Tales of Wanderlust

Over the Top!

2011-08-28T18:37:00.000-07:00

This weekend I went to the Women of Faith "Over the Top" Conference in Dallas with my friend Becca. We had a great time. We weren't able to attend all of the sessions, but we really enjoyed the ones we were able to go to.

I will say this, I've never been in a place with SO many women at the same time before. It was a little overwhelming on Friday night. But a really sweet moment happened on Saturday morning. We were singing some praise songs with the worship team and I just got quiet for a minute and listened to all of the thousands around me raise their voices to the Lord. Gathering together in corporate worship, praising the same Lord was so beautiful. Our God is great! And I loved the opportunity to worship Him with fellow sisters in Christ from across the country.

The first speaker that we heard was Lisa Whelchel on Friday night. She was in the show "The Facts of Life" back in the 1980s, which happened to be one of Becca's favorite shows ever. So, needless to say, she was pretty excited about it! Lisa shared a testimony about what she has learned about friendships and it was really touching. She shared stories from her life about struggles that she's had, and she was very open and vulnerable. I appreciated that about her. As she shared about struggles getting close to friends and maintaining strong friendships, I was reminded of some of the wonderful friends that I have been blessed with and was thankful for them as I sat and reflected. I truly think God blesses us with friends to share life with - to laugh with, to cry with, to be vulnerable with and to rely on. I really enjoyed Lisa's talk and the things I took away from it.

Then on Saturday morning, we got to hear Sandy Patti perform (she is a gifted artist!) and speak. Sandy shared about struggles in her life, with weight and other self-esteem issues and what it means to have new beginnings in your life. She has some great points to share and it was neat to see her in concert. She seems like a genuine, loving woman.

The highlight of the conference for me was seeing Amy Grant in concert that afternoon. I grew up listening to Amy, from the time I was a little girl. When I was in second grade, I entered the school talent show with my awesome dance to "Baby, Baby." Believe me when I say, I was a fan! So, when I saw her on stage, I reverted back to that little 6-year-old. Becca thought I was a little crazy, but I didn't care. I sang along to "El Shaddai," "It Takes a Little Time, Sometimes," "Lead Me on" and "My Father's Eyes." I loved it! This alone made the conference worth it.

There were also touching moments of testimony, moving dramatic pieces and more. I may have cried more than once. :)

While, I will admit, I felt a little young in the audience, I did enjoy the conference. It was a neat experience bonding with other women of faith as we laughed, cried and listened to how God is moving in the lives of others.

Fun in the Summertime

2011-08-09T18:49:00.000-07:00

This summer has been fun as I've enjoyed and explored this new city I call my home. I wanted to share some of the fun places that I've been to over the past two months:

The Sixth Floor Museum

My college friend Kate came to visit and we went to the 6th Floor Museum in Downtown. This is a museum dedicated to JFK and share insight into his assassination in 1963. You can even view the spot from the window looking down on the Grassy Knoll where it is believed that Lee Harvey Oswald stood when he shot JFK. Kate and I are secret history buffs and we loved learning more about this pivotal day in American history.

Fort Worth Botanical Gardens

My RA from college and dear friend Sarah Gardner got married at these beautiful gardens in June. It was such a precious ceremony and I loved getting to walk around these awesome gardens! I'd love to go back when it's a little cooler and explore some more!

Buca de Beppo

Last weekend we went to this really fun Italian restaurant as part of Cristal Moreno's bachelorette party! The food was delicious and the atmosphere was lively and entertaining! This was a great place to have a great time!

The Melting Pot

My HPU friends, affectionately known as "The Herd," try to get together at least once a year for a reunion so we can catch up on each others' lives. This year only four of us were able to meet up, but we still had a great time! We went to this really fun fondue restaurant called The Melting Pot in the Arlington Highlands and it was quite a treat. While the overall meal was a little on the pricey side, we enjoyed every minute of the four course meal! It was so laid back and fun as we enjoyed cheese fondue, salads, the biggest meat platter you can imagine and delicious chocolate fondue for dessert! To give you a good idea, we spent about 3 1/2 hours there and loved every minute! :)

Southlake Town Square

My sweet friend Larissa came to visit me from Brownwood one weekend and we found a really fun shopping area called Southlake Town Square. It's only about 15 minutes from my apartment and it is so much fun! We enjoyed roaming around in all of the cute shops and grabbing lunch. I could have spent a lot more time here! I'm looking to going back again sometime soon (maybe when I have more money, haha!).

Rangers Ballpark in Arlington

I also went to a Rangers game with Larissa and my Brownwood small group the weekend she came to town. While it was really hot, it was also really fun! I love the atmosphere at baseball games (shocking, I know!) singing "Take Me Out the Ballgame," eating nachos and people watching is a good time to me! Plus, the Rangers beat Toronto 12-2 that day! Go Rangers!

Well, these are just some of the highlights of the summer. There has been a lot more going on, but that's all I can think of at the moment. I'll try to keep highlighting fun things to do in the Metroplex for all of you friends that should come and visit me! I've got plenty of room in my apartment and I love company! And, obviously, I'm fun and Dallas is fun, so you should come visit! haha.

Women of Faith

2011-08-09T18:20:00.000-07:00

So, I have exciting news! I received two tickets to attend the upcoming Women of Faith conference here in Dallas on August 26 and 27. I'm really excited about going to this event for the first time. I've heard wonderful things about it over the years and it will be neat to have a firsthand experience to share with all of you!

I feel like many of the speakers and singers this year are a collection of women from my childhood - including Amy Grant (Baby, Baby anyone?) and Sandi Patty, along with Lisa Whelchel from The Facts of Life! One speaker I am really interested in hearing is Brenda Warner. She is married to the pro-football player Kurt Warner and it sounds like she has a really neat testimony to share.

I'm excited to hear stories about how God is moving in the lives of these women and worship with women from around the state. I know God has great things in store and I look forward to sharing with you all about it!

Show me how to love

2011-07-15T19:03:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week my new boss asked how I was doing with my adjustment in the new job and everything. I told him I was doing really good. I'm enjoying my new job and everything is just great. Then he said, "you seem to be a positive person. Are you ever not positive? Are there ever times when things aren't going well?" I told him, yes of course! Well, tonight was one of those times.

I got my feelings hurt by someone and then I got mad about it. I was trying to do something nice and they were not acting appreciative at all. It just hurt me so much.Didn't they see what I was doing? How I was going out of my way to do something nice?? In fact, I got so upset, that I took a walk in the park across the street to tell the Lord all about it. I took two laps around the park, huffing and puffing, crying and venting. Didn't God see how hurt I was? Why was He letting this happen? Why was I being punished when I was trying to do something nice? Didn't I deserve better? Tears were flowing as I was crying out to the Lord asking why I was being faithful and yet things like this happened.

And then, on lap three it hit me. I realized that the reason I was so upset was because I was doing this good deed to make myself feel better and I wasn't getting the response I thought I deserved. It was all about me ... Whoa. That just kind of slapped me across the face. The Lord reminded me that I should be doing this act in service to Him. I should be loving and giving to others as an overflow of my love for Him, and not be seeking anything in return. As I was walking, the song "Hosanna" sung by Christy Nockels came on. One of the lines spoke to my heart. It said, "Open up my eyes to the things unseen. Show me how to love like you love me." That's what I was missing. I was so wrapped up in me that I was missing out on an opportunity to learn how to love like the Lord does. Once I realized this, my heart was lifted, my burdens were lighter and I was able to look around and see the beauty God was displaying all around me. The sun was setting behind the hill, reflecting brilliant colors of orange and pink across the night sky.

This verse just came to me as a beautiful reminder:

"I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine, He who pastures his flock among the lilies." Song of Solomon 6:3

So, next time I get all worked up about how someone has wronged me, hopefully I will stop and look at my heart and motivation. I want to love others like the Lord loves me. And I know my faithful God is going to keep walking beside me and showing me how.

Fight for Survival

2011-07-07T18:01:00.000-07:00

Headlines lately have highlighted the verdict for Casey Anthony and the race for our next President. There was a huge fire in Phoenix and the Texas government passed 1,200 bills we didn't hear about because of the budget crisis. But, when I was reading the Fort Worth Star-Telegram I ran across a story I hadn't heard anything about until today.

Did you know that 12 million Africans face 'fight for survival'? I had no idea!!! Apparently the severe drought across the Horn of Africa has affected people in Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and Djbouti. In one refugee camp more than 360,000 people have come to receive some kind of relief. The camp is only equipped to help around 90,000. Can you imagine?

We are facing a severe drought in Texas right now, but I had no idea about the plight happening on the other side of the world. The photos I saw and stories I read brought tears to my eyes. I'm researching an organization to contribute to that will help a little bit and I'm going to be lift up prayers for these hurting, starving people. I know they belong to the Lord. I know He loves them. Sometimes it's so hard to understand why there are some in the world that are starving while there are others that have an abundance. This news deserves more attention than it's getting. It shouldn't be buried on page 10.

Land of the Llamas

2011-06-22T18:22:00.000-07:00

I can't belive it's taken me so long to blog about Peru. All the moving and life changing stuff kind of got in the way. But! Have no fear, dear readers! I'm here to share some of my adventures in my first South American country. I went on a super cool adventure with my sweet sister Lorin on April 27-May 1 to the exciting and exotic country of Peru. Lorin's husband Phillip was doing a medical internship in Lima, Peru (the capital city) for the month of April, so we went at the end of the month to meet up with him and go sightseeing. We arrived on a Wednesday, after flying through El Salvador and Costa Rica, into Lima. It turns out we weren't that impressed with Lima. While it is on the coast, which is pretty, the city itself is very modernized and there wasn't much for a foreigner to really do. We did have a traditional Peruvian meal and tried our first of many Inca Kola's (think Big Red but bright yellow!). We hung out that night and then left on Thursday morning for Cusco.

Cusco was my favorite! It is a city that's about 11,000 feet above sea level, so we actually took elevation medicine so we wouldn't get sick. Basically, Cusco's claim to fame is that it's the city you go to to prepare yourself for Machu Picchu. We spent two days wondering around this ancient city, and I loved it so much! It was like rolling back in time, to a slower paced, easier life. There are still streets and walls that were built by the Incas over 500 years ago. Women carried their babies around on their backs. You go to different parts of the city to buy different goods. Markets are everywhere. It was so much fun. I must mention that this is also where Lorin and I feel in love with llamas. We were joking about how we were going to buy all of this llama stuff when we were in Cusco, and then we ended up really doing it. It was addicting! I left that city with a llama sweater, llama socks, llama shoes, a llama blanket, a llama purse and a turquoise llama figurine. See? I was obsessed! Possibly the highlight of the trip was when these native women walked right up to us with two llamas and asked if we wanted to take pictures with them. Naturally we had to oblige. It would've been rude otherwise! :)

Then on Saturday we made the long and arduous trek up to Machu Picchu, one of the 7 new wonders of the world. Machu Picchu is an ancient Incan city that was built up on this mountain. It was basically hidden from civilization and wasn't discovered by the moden world until 1911. Crazy, right? The Incans built a self-sufficient city up on this mountain that was just so beautiful. We wandered around the ruins for several hours imagining what life must have been like for these people. The best part, though, was just sitting on the rocks and taking in the beauty of God's creation all around me. I've never been to a place like it. We were literally up in the clouds. Gorgeous mountains (and steep cliffs) were all around us. The land was lush and picturesque. Llamas roamed free. There was a hush all around us as people just took it all in. It was one of the neatest experiences I've ever had.

Lorin, Phil and I had so much fun together! They are great travel buddies and I'm so glad I got to go on this trip with them. Here are just a few of the hundreds of pictures I took. I will say pictures don't do it justice. This was a trip like no other and I will never forget it!

The main square in Cusco

Sporting our llama sweaters. Aren't we cute?

Phil examining one of the ancient Incan walls

The Perurail train we took to Machu Picchu

Me, Lorin, the Peruvian women and LLAMAS!

At Machu Picchu! Gorgeous doesn't even begin to describe it!

Phil with the aqueduct that still had running water! Such an explorer!

Where the llamas roam free

Just sitting and taking it all in

Phil and Lor in Cusco at the Temple of the Sun

Our traditional Peruvian meal in Lima

New Chapter

2011-06-22T17:47:00.000-07:00

I've just started a new chapter in my life. I don't know the title of the chapter yet, but it sure has been eventful (hence the lack of blogging for the past two months). Here's an update on everything: the day I returned from my awesome trip to Peru (blog to come next, I promise!), I had an interview at Dallas Baptist University. I did not know at the time that it would basically be a job offer, but that's what happened.

I was offered the position of Director of News and Information, working for my friend Blake (who is the VP for Communications). The job includes public relations type work (which I love to do!) and a new project that's underway and hard to explain, but it's fun! Additionally, they told me about a brand new master's program they were launching this summer - the Master of Arts in Communication. It just so happened that this was exactly the kind of program I was looking for, and they just created it! In one day, I was offered a great job and a great educational opportunity. That day I was just overwhelmed by how God orchestrated everything!

It was like God was saying "Kalie, remember how I've been asking you to wait? Well, this is what you've been waiting for!"

The job was even in the same building that my sister Jamie (who will be a junior) works in! It was too great to pass up, so I said yes! And moved to Dallas three weeks later.

It was tough to say goodbye to HPU, which has been my home for the past nine years. Interesting fact: that is the longest I have lived anywhere my whole life! I feel like I "grew up" in Brownwood. HPU definitely shaped so much of who I am today. There are so many wonderful people who invested in me and believed in me, even when I didn't. I made lifelong friendships and even created my own family there. All that to say, HPU will always hold a special place in my heart! While it was hard to leave, I know that this is exactly what I am supposed to be doing. I don't have a doubt that I am where God wants me right now. God has blessed me with such a peace as I've basically turned my life upsidedown.

Everything is new right now and it's exciting and scary and overwhelming and so much fun! Now, I'm just learning everything that I can about DBU. I'm meeting new people and trying to not get lost too often around the Metroplex. I've been blessed to be able to reconnect with old friends over the past few weeks, which has been really wonderful. There are still many people I want to meet up with, and I know I'll be busy for a while.

And, I actually am really enjoying school too. I started class about two weeks ago. My class is on Social Media Communication. It's really interesting! It's fun to study a subject that I'm familiar with and deal with on a daily basis. I really think I'm going to enjoy this program and will have my degree in about two years, if everything goes according to plan.

So, there's my update. It's kind of lot. Believe me. I know. But, it's good! God has been so faithful and has provided for me in so many ways. I can't wait to see what's in store for me in this new chapter of life. I'll take some pictures of my new apartment and DBU and post them soon so you can all see what my life up here looks like.

Full House

2011-04-17T18:16:00.000-07:00

Whatever happened to predictabilities? The milkman, the paperboy, the evening tv. You miss your old familiar friends waiting just around the bay ...

I decided to it was important to dedicate a whole post to one of my all time favorite shows which happened to be based in San Francisco. You guessed it! It's Full House!

I grew up having a crush on Uncle Jesse, identifying with DJ, having Stephanie drive me crazy and wondering how many times Michelle could say "You got it dude!" in an episode. I'm thankful my dad wasn't OCD about cleaning like Danny, but we loved hugs around my house and were probably just as hokey at the Tanner family. So, it was only natural for me to hunt down a couple of great locations from the show while I was in San Fran.

Here are the Painted Ladies. These house are well known in the city, not just for being in the opening credits of Full House. But do you recognized them? Think back to the opening song when the family is having a picnic in a park and Michelle comes running around and jumps into Danny's arms. Recognize it now? Haha. The Painted Ladies are in a park called Alamo Square which is really beautiful! The neighborhood has gorgeous houses all around and it is really picturesque.

Once I made it to the park, I found out that THE Full House house was just a mile away, and so I just had to go. Thankfully my friends Megan and Landry were willing to appease me, so we walked many blocks to find this house. The show was obviously not filmed here, but they used the front of the house throughout the show. The address is 1709 Broderick, incase you ever want to go find it.

Seeing these houses reminded me of so many childhood memories. It was a fun little field trip around the ciy and a great chance to see some unique sights!

The City of Enchantment

2011-04-15T20:18:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm back from my latest adventure. I was in San Francisco for five days and it was so much fun! I took 12 HPU students to a Model United Nations conferencce and we had a great time! I really feel like I was able to see so much of the city and it quickly climbed the charts as one of my favorite US cities! I also got to see my sweet friend Cassie. She lives in Redding and came down for the weekend to see the city with me. We had a great time laughing, getting lost and catching up! She's my first travel buddy and I love exploring new cities with her!

Here are some things that I loved about The City of Enchantment:

The Bay:

Can I just say that San Francisco Bay is gorgeous? It truly was breathtaking. I think I could have sat along the water for hours and just stare out at the water, the clear blue skies, the mountains and all of the beauty that God created. I loved eating at Fisherman's Wharf, walking along the water, grabbing chocolate at Ghirardelli Square and riding a little cruise boat across the bay (it was SO windy, but I highly recommend it!)

North Beach:

I think this was my favorite area! This is the Italian district and it is so cute! I loved sitting in Washington Square Park and soaking up the sun, eating at this cute little Cafe Delucchi, seeing the San Fran original musical "Beach Blanket Babylon" and getting confused on the crazy streets.

Golden Gate Bridge:

I literally flew over, rode under, walked across and traveled around the Golden Gate Bridge. I think I got a pretty good look at all sides of that architechural wonder! I loved walking across the bridge with Cassie and getting a feel for how enormous it really is! It's also a chace to get a great view of the city! It's almost 2 miles long, so it takes a little while to get across, but I think it was well worth it!

Walking the streets

I think my favorite thing to do when I visit a city is to walk the streets. That's the best way to really get a feel for the culture, do window shopping, admire the houses and parks and people watch. I ended up walking from the Pier all the way to Union Square three times on this trip, which was quite a trek, but I loved it every time! I saw so many things - Chinatown, Washington Square Park, Lombard Street, cute homes and cafes and so much more.

Other highlights:

Some other great things I saw included Coit Tower (a great view of the city!), Cliff House (gorgeous restaurant on the coast with an awesome view of the Pacific Ocean), cable cars (although I didn't actually ride one, tragic, I know!) and Market Street (lots of shopping and fun buildings).

San Francisco is a great city! I highly recommend it! I would go back in a heartbeat. It has a very international feel. It was funny because I would be riding a bus or walking down a street and be surprised when I understood English all around me. At first, I thought it was only because I'm just used to touring international cities, but I think it is also because San Fran feels international. The people are very helpful and friendly. It's just a great city! I <3 San Francisco!!!

April Adventures

2011-04-02T11:58:00.000-07:00

I have some great trips coming up in the month of April, so here's my latest travel update:

San Francisco, CA

This Friday I am going to San Francisco and I'm so excited! I've always wanted to go to this awesome city on the West Coast! I'm taking a group of HPU students on a Model UN trip, which I think will be a lot of fun! Also, as an added bonus, my friend Cassie is going to come into town for a couple of days to visit! Cass and her husband Tucker live in Redding, which is like 3 hours away and I've wanted to go and visit them, so I'm glad this is working out! Cass and I have been on many adventures together and I'm looking forward to another great trip!!

Machu Picchu, Peru

A couple of weeks after I get back from San Francisco I'm heading to a new city, country and continent! Lorin and I are flying to Peru to visit her husband Phillip, who is working there for a month doing a medical internship. We're flying into Lima and spending a couple of days there and then heading to Machu Picchu, an Incan lost city that is one of the 7 new wonders of the world! (For those keeping track, this will be my third wonder to see - including the Coliseum in Rome and Chichen Itza in Mexico, and don't worry! I planning on visiting them all at some point!)

This will also be my fourth continent to visit. I've obviously been to North America, and then Europe and Asia. Another travel goal is to go to every continent (except Antartica, that is just a little improbable), so I'm well on my way! Only Africa and Australia will be left after this trip!

Arms of Love

2011-03-24T20:56:00.000-07:00

When was the last time you just let everything go? Like, literally everything? I thought I was pretty good at it ... coming home from work and letting work go. Going on a trip and forgetting about all of the stress and pressure that was waiting for me at home. Maintaining friendships in the midst of busy schedules, time zones and changes. But you know what? I've been holding onto all of that. Even when I was convinced I let it go from time to time. When I took time to spend with the Lord, I was still holding onto all of the ... stuff. I let it distract me from giving God my full attention.

Well, last weekend I went to a women's retreat with my church. The theme was "Creating a Sacred Space" and I knew going in to the weekend that we would be talking about putting aside all of our busyness and everything in our lives and making room for the Lord. The problem was, I didn't have time to make time for all of that. My life was too busy. Are you sensing the irony here? By the time I got to the retreat late Friday afternoon, I was ready for some rest. During our first session, our leaders were talking about putting aside everything that is on our minds - everything. We had a "Sabbath" box on the table and we wrote down things that we were going to lay aside for the weekend - work, communication with others, I had quite a list. Then our speaker was talking about finding rest in God. True, quiet rest. She described crawling up into God's lap and letting Him hold us.

I can't remember the last time I crawled into someone's lap and just let them hold me. I pictured that with God. Just sitting there, letting Him rock me, calming me worries and fears, taking all of my stress and throwing it away. Completely letting go of everything. It was amazing. I can't even describe how wonderful it felt to give it all over to the Lord. I guess as a single woman, I feel the need to take care of myself. I can ask for help, but ultimately I feel like I still have to always maintain control. There isn't anyone else around to take care of me. Just me. But you know what? That's not true. I've been lying to myself. My God is here to take over. He wants the control. He wants my worries and fears. He wants all me. He longs to wrap me in His arms of love and rock me. Oh sweet friends, I pray that you can experience that someday. It truly is the sweetest feeling. Now, I just need to remember how to do that every day. To crawl back up in my Father's lap and let him take control.

Trains and Toilets

2011-03-22T18:22:00.001-07:00

So, I have some more stories to share about my adventure in Taiwan with Danielle. I had some new experiences that were unique, to say the least.

One day I went with Danielle and her friend Leah to a city on the south of the island called Tainan. We rode a high speed train to get there, which was pretty cool. Next to airplanes, this was probably my fastest speed of travel so far in my life. What would have taken us 8 hours by normal speed train only took 2, so that was pretty neat. Danielle and Leah had to do some work in Tainan, but we also got to see some of the big sights. We went to a Confucious temple, which was pretty interesting, and to a "castle" built by the Dutch and then rebuilt by the Japanese known as Anping Fort. The trees at the fort had these super long roots hanging down, and we enjoyed taking some pretty funny pictures. We also went shopping in a little market that was super cute. One of my favorite things there were these little waffle type things they made right there on the street in the shape of funny things like a chicken, motorcycle and gun. Brilliant, right? haha. On our train ride back to Taipei that night we found out that we were under a tsunami alert. It was kind of scary for me for a little bit, but praise the Lord nothing ever happened!

Another great adventure was to a very, shall I say unique, restaurant in Taipei called Modern Toilet. Several people on facebook commented that they had seen this place on the Food Network, but I can I just tell you that the real-life experience is far greater than anything you can watch on t.v. It was pure craziness! The toilet was their theme and boy did they stick to it! The food (which was not good at all!) was served in toilet and bathtub shaped bowls. We sat on toilets for our seats and ate on plexi-glass that was covering a bathtub. There were little swirls of pink poop on the wallpaper and poop shaped light fixtures. I told Danielle that I think I only enjoyed this experience because I was in Taiwan and it was so crazy that it was funny. Had I been in America, I probably would have thought it was disgusting. But, we definitely laughed a lot! Modern Toilet was in an area called Ximen, which is a fun pedestrian shopping area. I went there on my last trip too, and it's a great place to roam around and have fun!

Needless to say, these experiences were really fun. All in all, it was a fantastic trip! Taiwan is such a neat country full of beauty and warmth. I'm so glad I had to opportunity to return for a second trip and experience more of its greatness! Danielle was a wonderful host and it was great to get to see her in her element in her Asian home! Although, I must admit, that I'm ready for my best friend to come back to the U.S. in August!

Going and Coming

2011-03-15T05:10:00.000-07:00

I'm home, finally! This may have been my most exciting travel experience to date. Going and coming back from Taiwan were both definitely adventures! I had such a wonderful time with Danielle! She is the best and we had so much fun together!!! I will tell you more about my trip in another blog- this post is dedicated strictly to my traveling stories. My, oh my!

Going

I attempted to leave for Taiwan on Thursday, March 3 at 10 a.m. When I arrived at the airport, I found out that because my passport was expiring in less than 6 months (June 25 to be exact) Taiwan wasn't going to let me in their country. So, I ended up having to go and get a new passport that day. It was crazy! But God took care of everything and I had a new passport and flight and was on my way about 8 hours later than anticipated. There were lots of crazy things that day - a parking bus that broke down, immediately followed by a broken escalator and elevator, my new flight to San Francisco was delayed ... it was a lot to take in, but thankfully I was not stressed or worried - I knew that I'd get to Taiwan eventually. My biggest concern was making sure that Danielle knew I wouldn't be coming in at 10 p.m. on Friday, but rather at 6 a.m. on Saturday. She did get the message, which was so good and we talked in the airport in San Francisco before I left for Taipei. I finally arrived at 5 a.m. on Saturday morning and continued a VERY long day until about 9 that night when I crashed.

Coming

As I'm sure all of you are aware, there was an earthquake that hit Japan on Friday, March 11. Well, I was still in Taiwan at that time. We were under a tsunami warning, but praise the Lord, we were not hit at all. I was concerned because I was supposed to be flying back to America via Tokyo on Sunday and so I called to check on my flights and they told me everything would probably be fine. Tokyo wasn't hit that badly and so I was trusting everything would work out. When I got to the airport on Sunday at 8 a.m., I found out that my flight had been delayed until 1 p.m. - I'm assuming because of the earthquake, but no real reason was given. Danielle's friends who brought me to the airport had to get back for church, so I said bye to them and entertained myself in the airport for a long time. I ended up getting sick around 9 a.m., but I think it was just because I hadn't had a lot of sleep. Great way to start the trip, though! haha. I boarded my plane for Tokyo at around 1 and as we were traveling down the runway, I found out that our plane had air conditioner problems and we'd have to get it worked on for a while. We sat on the runway for over an hour and finally left about 3 p.m. When we got to Tokyo, I knew I'd already missed my connecting flight for Dallas and that I'd have to be at the mercy of Japan Airlines to hopefully get back home sometime soon. They rescheduled me on a flight to LA that was leaving within 30 minutes so I rushed to that gate. One good thing was I was bumped up to Premium seating - which was really nice for my long flight! I had a nice cushy chair with a pop-up foot rest, lots of little amenities and I was able to sleep most of the time! I arrived in LA at 1 p.m. their time and was so thankful to be back on American soil! I had a four hour lay-over in LA, so I bonded with some of my fellow travel buddies who I'd been with since Taipei. There were some really sweet people and we all laughed and bonded over our exhaustion. Our flight ended up being delayed (surprise, surprise) and so I think we finally left LA around 6:30. We landed in Dallas at 11 p.m. - still Sunday to me (maybe the longest Sunday of my life) and when I called my parents they told me they were booking me a hotel for the night. I know they were really worried about me and all my travels - especially since I was by myself. I really just wanted to be home at that point, but since Brownwood is a good 3 hours from DFW airport, it would've been around 3 a.m. by the time I got home. So I took them up on their offer and stayed at the Sheraton that night. It was so nice to be in a bed! I woke up yesterday morning at 7 a.m. and drove back to Brownwood. Whew! I have no idea how many hours of traveling that was- but it was exhausting for sure! I felt like I got hit by a bus. Thankfully I was able to rest yesterday and now, I'm ready for the week!

As you can tell, I had quite a trip! I can't wait to share more about the fun things that I did in Taiwan! It is such a beautiful country, full of wonderful people, including my best friend! I had a blast! But I am glad to be home ... finally!

Taipei Take 2

2011-03-09T18:12:00.001-08:00

Ni Hao!

I'm writing from Taipei, Taiwan on my second adventure in this wonderful city. I'm here visiting my best friend, Danielle, in her Asian home. Just like all of my other trips with Danielle, we have been busy pretty much non-stop. We've seen some really beautiful places, had some great food and I've met some wonderful people! There are still times, just like last year, when it just hits me that I'm in Asia. We'll round a corner, and WHOA, a smell will hit me. Or we will be walking down a street laden with flashing signs, millions of scooters and cars, smells and noises everywhere and I will experience a little sensory overload. Sounds fun and exciting, right? It totally is!

Danielle knows so much more about this city this time - she can get around by bus, carry on conversations with the shop owners trying to sell me crazy things and knows where to get all of the best food - like big chicken and jawza. Here are some pictures from the past few days.

Yangmingshan

Sharyl, Danielle and I hiking Yangmingshan Mountain

Dinosaurs at the National Taiwanese Museum

Leah, Danielle and I at the Shilin Night Market

Trying candied strawberrys - an explosion of flavor in your mouth!

Big chicken! It's as big as your face!

Flora Expo - so many gorgeous flowers!

As you can see, we are having a wonderful time! More pictures and stories to come!

Valentine's Jane Austen Style

2011-02-13T19:14:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had one of the most fun parties ever! We had a Jane Austen themed Valentine's party complete with scones, cucumber sandwiches, tea and so many other yummy treats. We watched Sense & Sensibility and the Jane Austen Book Club and just had so much fun! I just love bonding with friends over our adoration for Jane. We discussed our favorite characters and books. It was just a great afternoon of good food, good friends and good movies! I even got to use my grandmother's milkglass tea plates and cups! It was so special! Here are some pictures from our great (hopefully annual) party!

Our delicious spread of food - all scrumptious!

My co-hostess Maria

Heart-shaped chicken salad sandwiches

My teapot from Bath, England - where Jane Austen lived for a while

Jane Austen lovers - Maria, Katie, Beka, Candice, Keren, Jen and me!

Awesome Concerts at HPU!

2011-02-07T13:14:00.000-08:00

One of the things I've been doing in my job lately is helping bring concerts to HPU. It's such a fun thing to be involved in! My boss Louise calls them "Concerts by Kalie." haha. It has a nice to ring to it!

A couple of weeks ago we had a little coffee house concert on campus with an up-and-coming contemporary Christian artist named Lindsay McCaul.

Lindsay is precious and so very talented! She was one of the openers for Shane & Shane during their Christmas concert at HPU last semester. She has such a beautiful heart for the Lord and her voice is amazing! Lindsay is definitely going to go places! I can't remember her line-up exactly, but I know she's touring with Jeremy Camp and Casting Crowns in the near future. I'm pretty sure she's going to be a big some day and I can say I knew her when! Here are some pictures from her concert - and if you are interested in listening to her music, you can click here!

I just found out on Friday the next concert we're having is next week! It's going to be so much fun! One of my favorite bands, Addison Road, is coming to perform at a Valentine's banquet on campus. My favorite song right now is Hope Now! It's so good! The lead singer of the band, Jenny Simmons, writes a blog that I love! I don't even know her - but I think she's so funny! I'm looking forward to having them on campus for a great night! And did I mention they are serving steak and lobster and it's free for students with their meal plan? What a deal!

And on March 31st, Brandon Heath is coming with his tour - Leaving Eden - featuring Dave Barnes and Kristian Stanfill. So awesome, right? I'm definitely excited about all of great bands coming to HPU in the next few months! It's going to be great!

Clean Water

2011-02-05T11:48:00.000-08:00

There are lots of things in life that we, as Americans, can many times take for granted. Thanks to the ice storm of 2011, I have a new appreciation, make that love, for running water. On Wednesday morning, I woke up and realized that all of the water pipes in our house had frozen. You know what that means, right? No showering, flushing, clean dishes, clean laundry or drinking/cooking water. Wednesday wasn't so bad, Candice and I went over to my friend Kristy's house to shower and we made do the rest of the day. Well, Thursday, the temperature didn't get above 20 degrees, so you know what that meant? Still no water! And Friday? You guessed it! Pipes were still frozen. I will admit that by Friday morning I was in kind of a bad mood about this inconvenience. Dishes were starting to pile up, I needed another shower, my laundry was out of control ... you get the picture. I'm so thankful that I had people to turn to in the midst of my mini-crisis. I headed to my friend Larissa's to shower and then last night Candice and I ended up spending the night with her parents for a reprieve from the seemingly desperate situation.

I came home this afternoon to find that - Praise the Lord - my pipes have thawed out and we have water again! One of the lessons I learned from this experience is to always leave your pipes dripping when a potential freeze is coming - it's amazing how many people told me this AFTER our pipes froze. I'll never forget that lesson!

The other thing I learned, was to truly be thankful for running water. My friend Katie Ellwood reminded me of this earlier this week through this video she made with her brother. For their birthdays this year, they are asking for people to donate money to Charity: Water - an organization that works to bring clean water to the people around the world. Apparently, there are over 1 billion (1,000,000,000!!!) people in the world that don't have clean drinking water. The number is truly astonishing. While I was without water in my home for 4 days, I still had access to clean water in a number of places. These people face EVERY day without clean water. EVERY DAY! I'm sure Katie had no idea how this video would resonate with me personally this week, but I'm thankful for my friend who opened my eyes to a much bigger problem than my 4 days of uncomfortableness.

So, right after I did my dishes, I donated to Katie's birthday goal. Now, I'm going to hop in the shower and enjoy my running water.

Thank you, Lord, for teaching me to be thankful in unique (and sometimes smelly) ways!

Snow Day in Pictures

2011-02-01T13:26:00.001-08:00

Today we had a snow day - and I've been loving every minute of it! I decided to get out my new camera and play around with my zoom lens. Turns out it is bitterly cold outside, and there isn't much snow - mostly ice - but I still got a few pictures that I thought were pretty fun. So, here's how I spent my snow day:

I made beef stew and chocolate chip cookies for dinner, so if you're hungry ... come on over! :) Except my roomie has strep - so it's probably not a good idea. Maybe next time!

Pari holds the key to my heart

2011-01-10T18:41:00.000-08:00

Paris was amazing! For sure! I love that magical city so much and it didn't disappoint me on this trip! I was telling Danielle that my love for Paris runs deep, and I think it is for several reasons. First, it was my very first city to visit outside of the U.S. I think that alone makes it special. Secondly, I studied French in high school and college, so I know a little bit of the language, culture and history. Thirdly, it just has a magical feel. I think it comes from the twinkling Eiffel Tower, the magnificent buildings and the strollable streets. For all of these reasons, plus the added benefit of being there with my best friend and her super fun mom, my New Years trip to Paris was pretty awesome!Some of the highlights included:

Seeing the city from four different elevated vantage points - the top of Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower and Sacre Coeur.

Experiencing the city all decorated for Christmas - including the beautiful Champs Elysses.

Going to Disneyland Paris - my first international Disney experience was so much fun!

Having the craziest night of my life at the Eiffel Tower on New Years Eve - the story is too long for blogging, but just ask me about it and I'll share.

Experiencing the grandeur and extravagance of the rich at Versailles and Napoleon's Tomb.

Laughing and having so much fun with my travel buddy!

Paris on the horizon

2010-12-27T05:44:00.000-08:00

I realize that it has been a really long time since I have blogged. Life has been so busy lately, but I've been loving every minute of it!

Currently, I'm sitting in an airport in Lubbock on my way to Dallas. I just spent a week in El Paso with my precious family and it was wonderful! I love my family with all my heart! I love our traditions, camaraderie, inside jokes, sarcasm, and the fact that it doesn't matter where we are, as long as we are together, it always feels like home! Lorin and Phil weren't able to be with us this year for Christmas. Lorin had to work and so they stayed in Galveston and spent Christmas with Phil's family. I will admit that it was hard to not have her around! She's my other half! She was deeply missed but this is part of growing up, right? Sharing isn't always easy, but I understand that sometimes it's necessary.

Now, I'm headed to Paris to visit my best friend Danielle! We planned this trip while I was visiting her in Taiwan (her current home) way back in March and sometimes it felt like it was never going to get here. But, now, here I am, sitting in an airport waiting to head that way. Danielle's mom, Joanna, is also meeting us there. She is coming a day later, but will be flying back with me. I'm so excited! We have lots of fun things planned and I just can't wait to ring in the new year Paris style!

I pray that all of you, my dear friends, had a very Merry Christmas and may God bless you abundantly in 2011!

Oh, and don't worry! Pictures and a full report from Paris will be coming soon!!

Sweet Suite Life

2010-11-15T15:29:00.001-08:00

Oh my friends. I have been a bad blogger lately. I think I've been too busy living life to sit down and write about it. I think having a roommate contributes too, because now there is always someone around to talk to, so I'm not sitting alone with time to reflect as much. I do miss blogging, and I hope that I'll get back in the swing of things again starting now.

Today I've lost my voice and so I can't talk. Probably why I'm more inclined to write. Here's a recap of things lately. Two weekends ago I went to Dallas and saw Lady Antebellum in concert with Candice and her parents. It was SO much fun! They are an awesome band (even if they do sing country, haha) and they actually won the Vocal Group of the Year at the CMA's a few days later. After the concert I went over to DBU and stayed with my sister Jamie for the weekend, which was great! We had such a wonderful time catching up, shopping and enjoying the city of Dallas. I love my little sister and am so proud of the amazing woman she is becoming.

That Sunday I headed to McAllen, Texas (way south, practically on the border) for the Baptist General Convention Texas Annual Meeting. This was the last year for my dad to president and to preside over the meeting and I was sooo proud! The convention was actually my favorite one that I've been to. There was such a great spirit in the services, the sermons were great, music was so good and we even had the opportunity to participate in mission projects in the city. I went with my parents to the border to pray on an international bridge. Being that close to the danger and violence on the border was really eye-opening and humbling. There is definitely a war being fought on the border everyday and so we came together as believers to pray for the Prince of Peace to come and heal the land. We prayed for the violence to end and for God to be glorified.

I came back to Brownwood for a couple of days before I headed to San Antonio to celebrate my 26th birthday. Candice and I drove down and spent the day with my college buddy Maria. We strolled the Riverwalk, stopped by the Alamo and then went to a Spurs game. There was an HPU alumni event at the game that night and we got to watch the game from a private suite, which was really sweet! :) I was the photographer, which was fun. The game was pretty exciting and afterward we stayed to watch HPU alum Coffey Anderson perform a concert. All in all it was a really fun birthday! Definitely exciting!

I really will be writing more often from now on! Sorry for the silence. I'm excited about being 26 now and seeing all of the great things God has in store for me this year. 25 was really awesome. I grew so much, had a lot major changes happen and made some great new friends. I'm going to keep delighting myself in the Lord and look forward to seeing Him giving me the desires of my heart.

Coming Home

2010-10-17T16:56:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was HPU's Homecoming and it was so much fun to have so many of my friends come "home!" I obviously have a different experience, having stayed at HPU, so it is always so much fun to have my friends come back so we can relive the good old times! It was also different this year, because I didn't have to "work" the weekend as an alumni staff member, so I had more time to spend hanging out and enjoying the festivities - which was awesome. Not surprisingly, though, I was still exhausted by the time Sunday came around. Here are some of the highlights: Alumni Award banquet, BSM Coffee House, bonfire and float building at the barns on Friday night. Then Saturday morning we went to the All-Class breakfast, parade, toured Mims and Grace Chapel, lunch at Mi Familia, the football game (it was a sad loss, better not to talk about it), then dinner and a walk around campus that night. It was such a wonderful weekend! I'm blessed by amazing friends and I'm so thankful for the impact that HPU had our each of our lives!

What Dreams May Come ...

2010-09-30T19:46:00.001-07:00

For my 100th post on my blog, I'm going to talk about my dreams. Not my "oh, I want this in my life someday" dreams, but my literal, while I was sleeping this is what my mind came up with dreams.

Last night I had a good old fashioned crazy dream. It involved an inflatable kayak, Tarzan, a proposal of a very unlikely couple (not me, don't worry) and needless to say it was pretty far-fetched. Which, incidentally, is what most of my dreams are like. They tend to be very vivid, involving people from different times in my life, quite "out there" and sometimes, believe it or not I do believe I have deja vu! Sometimes I really dream things that come true! People can say that my mind is playing tricks on me, but I just can't rationalize that. I legitimately remember these random conversations or events from my dreams. I can't tell you it's going to happen before it happens, and the dreams/real life situations are never really of great significance, but I promise. Sometimes my dreams come true.

I was telling my mom about my crazy dream from last night and she said, "it's so interesting because you didn't really use your imagination as a kid, and so it's like you are using it now that you are grown up through your dreams." It was quite a profound thought. As a kid, I wanted to be a grown-up. I didn't really play "make believe" much, instead I played "real life." I would be a lawyer or a doctor or a secretary. I made file folders and diagnosed diseases and solved the world's problems. I wasn't very big into imagining far off lands, villains or spaceship rides. I wanted to imagine what I would be like when I grew up. Of course, what I imagined is not at all what my "grown up" life is like now (it's so much more fun than I pictured!). So, I guess my imagination had to be put on hold for about 20 years, until I grew up, so I can imagine crazy things while I sleep.

Who knows what dreams will come in my future. All I know is they are probably sure to be entertaining ... if I can remember them.

So You Think You Can ...

2010-09-29T18:57:00.001-07:00

DANCE! I would be remiss if I didn't give you, my wonderful readers, a detailed account of my amazing night at the So You Think You Can Dance tour last week. I went with my friends Larissa and Rachael to Grand Prairie for the tour. It was featuring the cast from season 7 (actually the first full season that I have watched all of the way through). I was excited to see all of my favorite dances performing my favorite dancers (most of them included Robert, my fav).

Here we are before we went in to the show:

So, while we were waiting for the show to begin, we were just sitting in our nose-bleed seats watching the slideshow that was meant to entertain us. Larissa had to go to the bathroom, so Rachael and I were reading the slides when one popped up that said "Got2B is giving away free backstage passes to the loudest fans, so make some noise." Well, Rachael and I started yelling, just for fun, and then another slide came up that said something like "You can do better than that, get louder!" So, we looked at each other, shrugged and thought, why not? So we yelled a little louder and threw our arms up. There weren't many people in our section at this point and we were pretty much the only ones yelling, so I guess we made ourselves noticable because less than a minute later this man and woman (with camera in tow) came up the stairs and gave us free backstage passes for being the loudest fans. It was AMAZING! We were in shock, to say the least! I've never won anything like that before! It was so fun! Here we are right after we won the tickets:

We were bursting at the seams for Larissa to get back and tell her our exciting news! She was shocked too. We were all so giddy and just kept laughing and saying "I can't believe this!" Well, then the show began - and it was awesome! They did all of my favorite dances, plus some bonus dances that were just so much fun! Then it was the big event! Time for us to meet all of our favorite dancers! We had to wait around about an hour after the show, but it was well worth it!

We met the winner of Season 7, Lauren, along with my favorite Robert, and Kent, Jose, Billy Bell, Dominic (all-star), Russell (Season 6 winner), Kathryn (all-star) and Ashley. It was so great! They were all so nice and just stood around and talked with us for a long time! My favorite person to meet was Kent. He was just precious! And I had a lot of fun when Dominic and Russell fought with me over who was more awesome! I still contend that they are so awesome, but they were pretty sure I was the awesome one, haha. Needless to say it was a really fun night! Here's some more pics for your enjoyment ...

Rachael, Kent and me

Larissa, Kathryn, Jose and me

The Awesome Dominic and Russell

Rachael, Larissa, Lauren and me

Me and Robert!

Treasures on Earth

2010-09-26T19:47:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have times when God is speaking to you about something and everywhere you turn, there it is again? Well, that's how's its been for me the past few days. I've been really convicted about my "riches" here on this earth.

On Tuesday night at Bible study, Beth Moore (via video, no, she wasn't really here) was talking about the wealth we have in America. She said that if we own one book and are able to read it, we are some of the wealthiest people in the world - because of the education we've received and the money we have. It really struck a chord with me and I've been thinking about it a lot this week. I know that I have so much and I know that I am not the best at sharing my wealth.

This morning in Sunday school, we had a guest teacher - one of my favorite people in the world - Dr. Carol Boren. She taught from James 5 and was talking about hoarding our wealth rather than blessing others with it. She talked about how the money we have been given is not a bad thing, but it is important to be wise in how we use it.

So, here are some of my thoughts. I know that I have not been the best steward with my resources. A lot of times I just blame it on being single - I know that I have money in the bank and I'm the only person to buy things for myself, so I usually just get what I want when I want it. Do I always need it? NO! Absolutely not! But there's no one around to spoil me, so I just spoil myself. That's so selfish! I try to bless others with gifts from time to time and give money to offerings, mission trips, and other things that I feel inclined to, but it's sporatic and not always intentional. I really feel like God is calling me to be a better steward. To use the money and resources He has entrusted to me to bless others and help those who need help.

So, starting October 1, I'm going to try to start budgeting. I'm not sure how good I'm going to be at this, but I'm going to try. First, I'm going to evaluate where I'm spending my money and set limits for myself on certains areas - like shopping, eating out, etc. I think that part is going to hurt! Then, I'm going to really seek out areas that I feel like God is calling me to give. I don't know what this is going to look like yet, but I really want to bless others and support mission opportunities (locally, nationally, globally). I think I'm writing this plan out to help me stay accountable. I really pray that this is a lifestyle change that will stick! I want to be so much better with my money!

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matthew 6:19-21

Kickin' it with Consistency

2010-09-13T19:24:00.001-07:00

Tonight I went to Turbokick for the first time in at least 3 weeks. And you know what? It was hard! I know that it wore me out a lot more that it usually does. My schedule has been so crazy lately, I just haven't had time to go to the 5:30 classes, so I've been walking, doing the eliptical or other forms of exercise, but it's just not the same. Turbokick is intense - and it works for me! Since I started the class 5 months ago, I've lost around 20 pounds. This is a such great achievement for me! You don't know how long I've tried to lose weight, to no avail.

So, here's a summary of what I'm telling you - Turbokick works for me and yet, the past few weeks I haven't made time for it and so now it's kicking me in the rear end. Conclusion? I need to be more consistent with what I know is good for me. I need to make time for Turbokick in my life, because I know it's beneficial and don't tell anyone, but I really enjoy it too.

I feel like the same is true of my devotional time. When I am studying God's word, I can see the fruits in my life. I have more joy, no matter the circumstances around me. I am rooted in God's truth and I am less likely to faulter. And yet, so many times I'm inconsistent. I see how good it is when I spend time with the Lord and then I go and get busy and one of the first things to go is usually my quiet time with Him. Why is that? Why can't I remain consistent?

The new Bible study that I'm doing with a group of precious friends is on the book of Daniel. Last week we were talking about integrity and how one of the greatest keys to integrity is consistency. To remain consistent in what you say, what you do and who you are. So, my new personal goal is to be more consistent - in my quiet time, in my exercise, in my speech and in my actions. Now, I'm going to log out of skype and facebook and blogger and go do my Bible study!

I Blame Belle

2010-09-06T18:33:00.000-07:00

I want adventure in the great wide, somewhere

I want it more than I can tell

and for once it might be grand

to have someone understand

I want so much more than they've got planned ...

This summer I went to see Beauty and the Beast the Musical with my friend Katie Ellwood. As we sat there and watched one of our favorite childhood musicals come to life, I realized that this story has a lot of meaning in my life right now. My dreams are bigger than I ever thought they would be. I want adventure! I don't want to settle for what people expect of me! I want more than that! I have a huge desire to do more, see more, be more! When Belle sang the verses above, I have to admit, I got tears in my eyes. I felt like she was singing my song.

I never dreamed when I was a kid that I would be like Belle, but now, I blame her for all of these huge dreams and aspirations I have. I feel like her story may have actually inspired me growing up without me even realizing it. Her thirst for knowledge, courage and independence are all attributes that I admire. She also is so kind and compassionate. She was willing to give her life for her father's and then when we was practically imprisoned, she made the most of it. I know it seems a little ridiculous idealizing a Disney princess, but Belle embodies a lot of who I want to be. And her song is my anthem of sorts.

The great news is that God knows all of my dreams and aspirations! He knows my heart, even better than I do, and He has an awesome plan for my life. Like the old hymn that I love so much says, "Wherever He leads I'll go, Wherever He leads I'll go, I'll follow my Christ who loves me so, Wherever He leads I'll go."

So, I think it's okay to want to be like Belle, because my mighty Savior is leading me on toward the many adventures ahead.

Note: Katie and I both decided to blog about "blaming Belle." Katie is a precious friend from college and someone who really understands me at this point in my life. I encourage you to read what she had to say on her blog! It's really wonderful!

Surfer Dude and the Beach Babes

2010-09-06T18:00:00.000-07:00

It was a perfect day at the beach!

The clouds were rolling by, the water was beautiful,

there was a cool breeze and the waves were frequent.

Lorin and I sat and soaked up the rays

while surfer dude Phil attempted to ride in the bodacious waves.

As Lorin and I were gazing at the sky, we were reminscing about the time when we were little (I was 6, she was 4) and we were watching the clouds when out of seemingly nowhere came a tornado. It was a scary experience we won't soon forget, fortunately we lived to tell about it. When we woke up this morning in Galveston, it was pouring down rain and the winds were really high. We soon found out why yesterday the waves were rolling in, there was a great breeze and the clouds were going by so quickly. It was because of Tropical Storm Hermine that made her way up the Gulf today. Thankfully Hermine didn't cause any real damage that I know of. God just used the tropical storm to provide us with a perfect beach day! Now, maybe next time Phil won't lose his clothes while he's surfing... hahaha

Thoughts on Friends

2010-08-29T06:50:00.000-07:00

Friends are such a wonderful gift from God.

True friendship is such an interesting phenomenon to me. It requires love, work, time, investment, giving of yourself, vulnerablility, honesty, kindness, acceptance and usually forgiveness from time to time. I guess this is true of all relationships, I just don't really have experience with romantic relationships, so friendships are what I know.

I have friends that are 4-years-old and friends that are 80. Every friend blesses my life in a different way. I'm thankful for each of them and what I can learn from them. Four year olds can teach you about wonder and amazement and unconditional love. Eighty year olds can teach you about strength and courage and joy in the midst of all circumstances.

Sometimes friends are just for a season. This is kind of difficult for me to accept, because I really like permanence. I usually tell my close friends that they are stuck for life. It's true, because I really hate letting friendships subside. But, I truly have seen God place people in my life for a time, when I needed them or they needed me. And then we drifted apart, and you know, I think that's okay.

Friends can have a great influence over you for good or bad. It's up to you to decide. So many friends of mine have made my life better, just by knowing them. I hope my friends can say the same of me.

And then there are best friends - the ones who know everything about you, and love you anyway. The people who understand you better than sometimes you even understand yourself. The ones that you laugh with until you cry, the ones you cry with until you don't have any more tears left. The ones you can call at anytime and know that they are there for you, even if they live thousands of miles away.

I'm not sure where all of this came from, just thoughts floating around in my head this morning. I am so unbelievably thankful for the friends in my life. My list of priorities in life goes like this: my God, my family and then my friends. If you are reading this, and made it to the bottom, then you are most definitely my friend! :) Thanks for the blessing you are in my life.

Close to Home

2010-08-25T19:53:00.000-07:00

The war on the border is starting to hit closer to home for me. I was reading my Dad's blog tonight about how this week there was another gunfight in Juarez that spilled into El Paso. A stray bullet actually hit Bell Hall at the University of El Paso. No one was hurt, thankfully, but my mom is now a student at UTEP and will be on that campus several times each week. It's such a scary thought to know that she is directly "in the line of fire."

El Paso boasts that it is the 2nd safest city in America. Seriously, they boast about it. It's all I heard both times I visited, and yet it is across the border from one of the most dangerous places in the world right now. I read in the paper yesterday that more than 1,800 people have been killed in drug related incidents in Juarez just this year. Hearing about something like that halfway across the world is horrible, but honestly sometimes I don't grasp the reality of the situation. Hearing about something that is happening just 2 miles away from where my dad, mom and sister are living is VERY real to me.

I know that God has called them to El Paso for such a time as this. Jesus is the only answer for healing on the border. I am a firm believer in Jesus' power. I believe He wants to do great things in the midst of this chaos and turmoil. And I am trusting that He has my family in His hands right this moment. If you think of it, please pray for protection over my precious family. It's hard to be so far away, especially knowing what is happening day to day in their area. Pray for healing in Mexico. Pray for an end to this war. Pray that God's love will be preached on the streets and that people will come to know Him in a mighty and powerful way.

My Dad quoted Psalm 91 in his blog, and I think it's a great passage to cling to:

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most Highwill rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,my God, in whom I trust.”

Who I am

2010-08-24T20:01:00.001-07:00

"Who you are alone is alone who you are."

The other day I was talking with some ladies and one of them shared this quote. It really struck me and I like what it says! I feel like over the past few years I have had lots of alone time. And during that time, I've found out a lot about myself. When I was in college, I was NEVER alone! Like seriously, I think it wasn't until my senior year that I even went to Wal-mart by myself. I was definitely dependent upon my friends. I didn't want to be by myself and have to reflect on how I was doing, what I wanted in life or any kind of introspection. So, I just filled up all of my time with people. Now, I did love spending time with my friends. Those friendships that I developed definitely have stayed with me and are such a big part of me now. I'm thankful for all of the time I spent with them and glad I did it. But I didn't know who I was really. I didn't know what I liked and what I wanted and what was motivating me.

Living by myself for three years definitely was eye-opening. I could do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted and didn't have to justify it to anyone. For a while, I was really lonely. But during that alone time, I began seeking after God more than I ever had before. I realized that He was truly ALL I needed. He wanted to be my best friend - the one I cried to, the one I shared my hopes and dreams with, the one to celebrate my joys with. God wanted to be my ALL. I'm still working on giving my life completely to Him, but the process has been amazing. Through this "soul searching," if you will, I have found more of who I am.

I am passionate about people, I love to travel and see new things and experience new cultures, reading is my escape - mostly for pleasure and sometimes to better myself, I'm inspired by testimonies of how God is working in people's lives, watching t.v. shows is my favorite way to make new friends, communication is the key to me - in my work life and my personal life, I love words!!!, I have a need to be spontaneous sometimes, road trips make me happy, my heart breaks for orphans, laughing is my favorite thing, dancing is so much fun (even all alone), I like to be original in small ways - like with necklaces, shoes and purses, I want be married and to be a mom, but I am finally content to wait on God's timing and not my own. These are just a few things I've learned about myself. Those who know me well probably knew a lot of these things and it's just taken a while for me to recognize them. Some of this stuff is trivial, other stuff is very personal, but it's all me.

I love you, too!

2010-08-17T17:58:00.001-07:00

I just finished going through my first Beth Moore bible study on Saturday with my friends Katie and Melissa. We did Breaking Free and it was really wonderful! I learned so much about who I am in the Lord, who He wants me to be and how to get over things in the past so I can live in the freedom that only comes from Christ.

During our Moore-a-thon, one of the things that Beth was talking about was God's love for us. She challenged us for a week to say to God, "I love you, too" instead of "I love you." Her rationale was that God loves us - it's so obvious! He sent His son to die for us. God IS love and while it is a great realization to know that we love God, it is also so important to realize that everyday He is saying "I love you" to each of us. I'm not sure if I'm explaining this as eloquently as she did, but it has been neat over the past few days to say this to my Father. To imagine Him saying "I love you, Kalie" and my response being to acknowledge that and return it. I'm so thankful that God loves me. I don't know where I would be without His love in my life and I pray that my life is a reflection of God's love.

This study was really great for me, because not only did I learn a lot, but I also developed some discipline with my quiet time and spent intentional time with the Lord each day. I'm starting a new Beth Moore at my house in a couple of weeks with my 20-something friends here in Brownwood and I'm really excited about it! There are at least 10 ladies right now that are interested and I think it will be so wonderful to get to know some new friends and learn together.

My TOMS: Eyeballs and Gobstoppers

2010-08-11T19:41:00.001-07:00

Last night was super fun! Two of my favorite HPU students, Amanda Hendrix and Molly Gore, graciously volunteered their awesome art skills and came to decorate my new TOMS. If you don't know about TOMS, you should check them out! With every purchase of a pair of shoes from them, a child somewhere in the world who doesn't have shoes receives a pair too. How cool is that? They have lots of really cool designs, but I decided that I wanted to be different (shocker, right?) and have my own original pair. Don't worry, I photographed the whole process so you can see exactly how I got the coolest pair of TOMS in the world.

Here is what we started with:
A plain white pair of TOMS

The design inspiration (thank you Houlihan's)

The supplies

First, Molly and Amanda sketched

their design in pencil
Then, they started painting
After a while, they switched shoes,

so that the shoes would be similar

They worked really hard for FOUR hours!!

And then they were done!

TADA! Aren't they awesome?
I've decided to become their manager, so if you would like to have the awesome team of Molly and Amanda design a pair of TOMS for you, contact me. Pricing is negotiable. :)

Bloomin' Awesome!

2010-07-23T11:25:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the priviledge of going to the Brownwood Community Garden - and it was awesome! One of our HPU professors, Mr. Kimery, and his wife Cindy took me to show me around and share more about the garden for a story I'm working on. This garden is awesome for many reasons, but the main reason being that half of all of the produce grown here goes directly to the Salvation Army and Good Samaritan to feed the hungry in our community. The planting boxes designated for donations are gardened by volunteers and I think it is so wonderful. In fact, I talked to my friends in my Tuesday night Bible study and I think we are going to go out there next week and help pick beans, or whatever veggie is ready for picking. What a great way to serve our neighbors in need!

And it's so neat to see produce in its element! The Kimery's are so knowledgable on all things "green" and they took me around and showed me all of the different plants, describing what they were, why they were growing that way, etc. I ate fresh okra and sweet peas right off the vine (or whatever they grow on) and saw almost every veggie you can imagine. I learned a lot and can't wait to start on the story! Its days like these that I really love my job!!! Getting out in God's creation and learning about how people are serving people. So cool!

Here are some of the pictures I took on our adventure:

Blogiversary

2010-07-15T18:15:00.000-07:00

Monday is my one year blogiversary. I must admit, I enjoy blogging a lot more than I thought that I would. It's so neat to look back over the past year and see all of the places I've been, the things I've learned, people I've seen and how I've grown.

Believe it or not, here are all of the places I've been in the past year - Orlando, Florida; Galveston, Houston, Amarillo, Dallas and El Paso, Texas; Kansas City, Missourri; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Washington, D.C.; New York City, New York; and Taipei, Taiwan. (I provided links so you can read about the adventures you may have missed out on!)

Some other big changes include a job promition to Director of Media Relations, moving offices from the Harrison House to Packer, moving out of my apartment and into a house with a new roommate and my family moving from Canyon to El Paso.

I feel like this past year I have grown a lot in my relationship with the Lord. I'm learning more about who God is and how He loves me. I'm also working on figuring out His plan for my life. That's definitely a process that I know will continue the rest of my life, but God's given me a new confidence in who I am in Him, which has really changed my perspective.

Lots of new people have come into my life - new friends, a new pastor in my church, a new president at my school, a new Sunday School class.

Not to mention I joined the Quarter Century Club in November - being 25 has rocked my world! I'm in my mid-twenties. Whoa.

It's definitely been a pretty big year in the life of me! Thanks for being a part of it! I look forward to the next year of blogging - sharing about my trips, my thoughts on God and life in general, updates and just for fun stuff too.

So, here follow me as my Tales of Wanderlust continue...

Salt & Pepper

2010-07-14T14:37:00.000-07:00

Great news! My computer is up and running and so is my internet! Yay! So one of the big themes of my summer have been change and moving. I've told you about all of the moves (my apt, new office and the parentals in EP) but another big change has been my friend Kristy deciding to leave HPU and be a stay-at-home mom.

Kristy and I have worked together for the past five years. Three of those years we worked right next to each other as the "Alumni Office" of Howard Payne. We've planned Homecomings, Senior Salutes, alumni events in Dallas, Waco, Houston, Amarillo, San Antonio and more and created postcards, e-newsletters, alumni magazines, etc. She made work so much fun! We get along really well and she has been my confidante over the past few years. I'm so excited that she is able to be home with her precious little boy, my favorite 3-almost-4 year old Tyler! But, HPU is definitely different without her being around.

We called each other Salt & Pepper because for a while there you never saw one of us without the other. And if you did, on that rare occasion, everyone asked us where the other one was. Leaving her goodbye party was sad, as I realized I was leaving by myself, without Kristy by my side. But then, God reminded me that I'm not alone! He's there walking with me. And Kristy hasn't left town either. She's still here and I know I'll see her all the time. It's just different - but that's okay!

Here's our Harrison House crew - Kathy, Debbie, Louise, Diann, Kyle, Tammy, Kristy, me and little Tyler. We're split up now, but this group will always represent the HH to me!

Rockin' and Rollin' in the New Crib

2010-07-10T10:30:00.001-07:00

Whew, these past few weeks have been quite the whirlwind. I moved into my new house a little over two weeks ago - YAY! As soon as I moved in I lost my connection to the outside world (i.e. internet and cable), hence the lack of blogging. I've had so much I have wanted to write, but haven't been able to - so let's see if I can remember it all.

First of all, this move has been exciting, tiring, long, overwhelming, sad and happy. For those of you who don't know, I have lived in my apartment behind the HPU President's house since the week after I graduated college. It's been my home. I had two different roommates during my first year, but since then I've been on my own in my little home. It was not a big space, but it was mine. And, so it was kind of sad to think about moving out, but at the same time, I've been so excited to get into a HOUSE and have a roommate again (my friend Candice). The moving process has taken a lot longer than I thought it would - mainly because I've been busy and I couldn't move a lot of it on my own b/c A) I don't have a truck and B) I don't have the muscles necessary to lift large pieces of furniture on my own. So I had to ask for help - which is hard for me. I want to be self-sufficient and take care of everything on my own! I'm independent! Hello! But my friends Jeff and Kristy have been so sweet to help me and I'm so grateful that it's not hard to ask them to help! They even helped me move my bed and couch in the rain b/c I needed it at the house in time for my friend Maria to come visit. They are wonderful!

All that to say - moving has been an experience - for sure! Candice has only spent two nights at the new house with me so far. Our schedules have been completely opposite. But I'm sure one day soon we'll be together all the time and have lots of roommate bonding! :)

A frustrating part has been my lack of internet. I didn't realize how dependent I am upon it until it was taken away from me. I signed up for Verizon high-speed internet this week and was so excited to get the modem in the mail on Thursday night. I went straight to setting it up only to run into problems. So, yesterday, after three dropped calls and lots of "patience" I finally talked to a technician who said they will have to send someone out on Monday to look at it. I decided I was okay with that (didn't really have a choice not to be) and I went over to Jeff and Kristy's to use their internet so I could post some new pics, blog and you know do the normal stuff. And wouldn't you know it, my computer has decided to be stupid and not work. I don't know what's wrong with it either. All I know is that me and technology aren't really friends right now.

But - I'm settled into my new house now and I promise to post pictures as soon as technology and I reconcile. And here's an invitation to come visit! I'd love to show you my new crib! :)

Daddy's girl

2010-06-20T20:04:00.001-07:00

I got a text from my dad today. It said "Kalie, you made me a dad. I am so thankful for you. Love always."

I cried.

I'm such a daddy's girl. I love my dad with my whole heart. He is the best man I know. He loves unconditionally, has a heart of mercy, serves tirelessly, never judges, always hopes and protects like no other.

The most important thing that my dad has done for me is show me a glimpse of what my heavenly Father is like. My God loves me unconditionally. He always wants the best for me. He thinks I'm beautiful and showers me with blessings. He dries my tears and comforts my sorrows. He believes in me, He's got my back. My God is mighty and awesome and loving and compassionate.

I am a blessed Daddy's girl!

King of the Wild Frontier

2010-06-20T05:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had an adventure. It wasn't intentional, but that makes it even more fun, right? Well, here's the story - I was asked to attend a funeral for an HPU alum in Crockett, Texas. I'd never been to Crockett before, so I left extra early to make sure I got there in plenty of time. It was a 4 hour drive and I ended up in town a whole hour before the funeral.

I was wondering on my long drive if Crockett had any connection with good old Davy, the king of the wild frontier and as I drove into town, my question was answered. I passed right by the "David Crockett Spring," so naturally, I had to stop! Apparently Davy stopped at this spring to get a drink on his way to San Antonio for that fateful battle at the Alamo.

I have a really good museum radar detector, and as I was looking around at the spring, I noticed a sign for the Houston County Museum right across the street. Since I had an hour, and nothing to do, I decided to go check it out. I learned quite a bit about Houston County - the oldest county established under the Republic of Texas in 1837. There were two really sweet old ladies that worked at the museum, and they spent extra time giving me a personalized tour of the musuem. They both grew up in the area, so many of the artifacts had personal significance for them. Here are some of the things that I saw:

A firetruck from the 1920s

An entire room dedicated to their old coal mining office from the 1910s

One of the ladies suggested that I go see this house in town. It was built in 1893 and it was so beautiful! Small towns can have so much charm and beauty!

On my way home I was able to stop in Waco and have dinner with my college roommate Meredith. It was great to catch up with her! Then God blessed me with an awesome sunset as I got back into town 12 hours after I left. It was so gorgeous! Quite a day, to say the least!

Coffee House Poetry

2010-06-16T16:44:00.000-07:00

When I was a sophomore in college, my friend Brandi and I wrote some poetry one night during a BSM coffee house. Our methodology was quite unique. We would start with one word and then take turns writing words or phrases, not looking at what the other person was writing, until we mutually decided we had reached the end. I stumbled across our poems today and I thought I'd share a few of my favorites.

Rainstorm
Flash of light
A piece of hair in her face
All alone
And the thunder rolls
Crash, bang
76 trombones
BOOM
A cell phone rings
Silence
Adjectives

Jesus
Amazing grace
Sunset
Father & Son
Projection screens
Walk in the park
Closed eyes
Sweet joy
Stains
All I need
Memories
Fly away
What a ride
Jesus

Quasi Window

2010-06-14T13:43:00.000-07:00

I love stained glass!! I think it is so beautiful, how the light streams through and makes colors become so vivid and brilliant! Since I don't have a window in my new office, my boss Louise had the wonderful idea to share a stained glass with me to give me the illusion of a window. This stained glass was donated by an alum and was originally in a church somewhere in Tennesse. I don't know it's full story, but it's beautiful nonetheless. Our campus carpenter framed it and put a backlight in it to make it really look like a window and today he came and hung it in my office - it's awesome!

Here's a close up picture so you can see what it looks like.

This is a view of my whole office - doesn't the stained glass add so much?

And, speaking of stained glass, I took this picture on campus today in our new Grace chapel. I thought it was really breathtaking. I just looked up and this is what I saw.

The letter "e"

2010-06-11T12:22:00.001-07:00

Do you know what letter you use the most when you type? Apparently I use the letter "e" most frequently, because mine is rubbing off my keyboard at work. How weird!

I guess that's why Pat Sajak gives you a free E during the final round of Wheel of Fortune. He knows you'll probably need it.

Taking over Texas

2010-06-05T20:30:00.000-07:00

The Lowries are taking over Texas - that is for sure. Mom, Dad, Jamie and Madie headed to El Paso on Thursday (Dad's first Sunday is tomorrow) and we are officially spread all across this big ole state! Here's a visual for you of where we are right now.

A) El Paso - Dad, Mom, Jamie and Madie
B) Brownwood - Me
C) Galveston - Lorin and Philip

I'm 500 miles from El Paso and 338 from Galveston, so not exactly in the middle, but pretty close. It's crazy how far apart we are, but I know we are all exactly where God wants us right now. And I've already signed up for Southwest's Rapid Rewards program, so I can start working on my first free ticket to visit mi familia. (that's Spanish in case you didn't know, haha).

Well, there's your geography lesson for the day. You are welcome.

Special thanks to Google maps for making this possible.

New Officemate

2010-06-03T14:55:00.000-07:00

We have a pest control problem in Packer - by way of a large bronze yellow jacket. haha. Actually, allow me to introduce you to my new office mate -

He doesn't have a name yet, but he's my friend. I don't think the pictures do justice to how huge he is. If you have ever been curious about the intricacies of a yellow jacket, stop by Packer 108 and you can find out!

It's so funny because EVERY person who comes over to our new office has a comment about our new friend. Some find him frightening, others think he's awesome.

Nine Years Ago ...

2010-06-01T19:22:00.001-07:00

my family and I moved from Wauwatosa, Wisconsin to Canyon, Texas. It was the summer before my senior year in high school, and needless to say, the hardest move of my life. When my parents told me that they were feeling called to Canyon, they talked with me about the possibility of me staying in Wisconsin while they moved to Texas. I could have stayed and enjoyed my senior year with all of my best friends, but I would have given up my last year with my family before college. It was a hard decision - I loved Wisconsin! I thrived there and I had no clue during my junior year that it would be my last year at Tosa East. After a lot of praying, thinking and crying, I told my parents that I felt like God was asking me to go with them. I knew it was going to be hard, but I knew that it was what I was supposed to do.

Fast forward nine years - as I stood in the sanctuary of FBC Canyon this Sunday hearing my dad preach his last sermon as pastor there, these memories came flooding back. I reflected on the last nine years in the my life and you know what? God is so good! I'm not going to lie and tell you that the year that I lived in Canyon was easy - because it wasn't! It was definitely the hardest year of my life. But God used it in so many ways to change my life! During that year, I learned to rely on God, I found a best friend in my sister Lorin, I played dominoes with sweet older couples, I grew closer to my parents and little sisters, I enrolled as a student at Howard Payne University (which forever changed my life), I learned about sacrifice and love and grace and strength. So much of who I am today has been shaped by this time in my life.

It was a bittersweet morning, saying goodbye to the church members who have meant so much to my family. Canyon has been my family's home for the past nine years, and it was sad to say goodbye. I know that God used our time in Canyon to change each of our lives. I can see how He has allowed each of us to be challenged and grow into who He wanted us to be. I can say with confidence that as the Lowries leave Canyon, we are all leaving as better people.

At the same time, I look with anticipation toward what God has in store for my parents and sisters in the future in El Paso. God is mighty and faithful and a great provider. I know He is going to do some great things!

Glory to God Forever

2010-05-26T19:15:00.000-07:00

Do you ever sing along with a song and not really think about what you are singing? I do it all of the time. When it comes to worship songs and I consciously realize I am doing it, then I try to stop and reevalute. My worship to God needs to be as authentic and real as I can be. Singing songs of praise to Him should be a reflection of my praise. I need to mean what I'm singing!

Well, the last few weeks I have been singing "Glory to God Forever" by Fee. I've been jamming out to this awesome song, but haven't stopped to think about God's glory.

This week I started a new Bible study with my friends Katie Decker and Melissa Gober. We are doing Beth Moore's study called Breaking Free. I'm a week behind the other girls, so I've been doing two lessons a day to catch up. Well, yesterday's lesson really struck me hard. It was about one of our blessing as God's children - which is to glorify God. Beth goes into an in-depth study on God's glory and WOW - it was awesome. I haven't ever thought about God's glory before - it is indescribable! The earth is filled with it (Isaiah 6:3), when Moses and Aaron encountered it they fell facedown to the ground (Numbers 20:6), the heaven's declare the glory of the Lord (Psalms 19:1), and the list goes on and on. God is so AWESOME and His glory is INDESCRIBABLE!

But that's not where it stops! 2 Corinthians 3:18 says "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."

Ok, go back to the last paragraph about how awesome God's glory is and then reread this passage - we are supposed to be reflecting God's glory! I was so humbled and convicted by that thought. I know that I do not always live that out. But now that I'm more aware of that, I'm going to try harder! I want God to be glorified in me - I want to be a reflection of His glory. It seems like an impossible task, but you know what? Nothing is impossible with God! (Luke 1:37)

Here's a link to Fee's song if you want to listen to it. Click here ! I pray that it has a new meaning for you today!

The Year of Living Biblically

2010-05-24T17:47:00.000-07:00

This is not some new project I have for my life. It's actually the story of another man's journey. Author A.J. Jacobs published this book in 2007 about his quest to follow the Bible as literally as possible. I just finished reading it last night and I would definitely recommend it. You should know that A.J. isn't a Christian. He is a Jew by ancestry, but not practicing by any means. Basically, A.J. is a man who decided to study the Bible - including all of the random laws - and find out what it's all about. I actually got to meet him last November in Houston. He even autographed my book!

A.J. is a very engaging author. Whenever I would pick up the book, I would get lost in his story-telling because it was so real and true to life. He's also very funny. There are some great stories in the book about different experiments he tried, his wife's response to some of the crazy things he was doing and just observations he made along the way.

It was really neat to read a book from a non-Christian and see his observations about the scriptures that many of us live by. Here are a few of my favorite quotes:

p. 72 "That's the paradox: I thought religion would make me live with my head in the clouds, but often as not, it grounds me in this world."

p. 176 (after eating some bugs - alhough I can't remember why he did it!) "More and more, I feel it's important to look at the Bible with an open heart. If you roll up your sleeves, even the oddest passages - and the one about edible bugs qualifies - can be seen as a sign of God's mercy and compassion."

p. 220 "'Praise the Lord,' I say out loud. I'd always found the praising God parts of the Bible and my prayer books awkward. The sentences about the powerful, almighty, all-knowing, the host of hosts, He who has greatness beyond our comprehension, I'm not used to talking like that. It's so over the top. I'm used to the understatement and hedging and irony. And why would God need to be praised in the first place? God shouldn't be insecure. He's the ultimate being. Now I can sort of see why. It's not for him. It's for us. It takes you out of yourself and your prideful little brain."

P. 275 (about the story of the prodigal son) "Unconditional love is an illogical notion, but such a great and powerful one."

I won't tell you his conclusions after living a whole year as closely to the Bible as possible, you'll just have to read it for yourself. But I will say that it is a very thought-provoking book and I highly enjoyed. I'm looking forward to trading with my sister Lorin next time I see her and reading his first book "The Know It All" about his year reading the Encyclopedia from A to Z.

Table for One

2010-05-23T07:15:00.001-07:00

Ok, really I have a table for four - I'm just the only one sitting at it right now. If you haven't caught my drift yet, the topic of this post is going to be about being single.

This morning I was telling my friend a story about how a room full of people found out I was single and I was really embarrassed. As I was thinking about the story later, I thought "If only it was my choice to be single - that would make it easier." Is that really true?

I realized that I have a control issue when it comes to my life - I want to be in control! I love to be in charge, especially of my life, but you know what? God wants the control. He wants to be in charge of every aspect of my life and He wants me to trust His guidance and His leading. He has never failed me and yet I still struggle with trusting Him with this aspect of my life? Why?

There are so many reason why - because I'm reminded of my relationship status almost daily, because so many people my age are married, engaged or at least dating, because it's a desire of my heart and I haven't seen fulfilled yet, and the list could go on and on. But the truth is that God hasn't revealed that part of my life yet. I just need to wait. Waiting is hard for me, but that's what God is asking for me to do.

As I sit here writing this, God just reminded me of this promise from Proverbs 3:5-6. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." What a wonderful promise! I'm going to claim this today, and tomorrow and probably the next day. My understanding isn't working for me, so I need to stop leaning on it. God loves me. He is my beloved. I'm going to try to relish in that love today and trust His timing for everything else. Here I go ...

Sting 'Em Lowries!

2010-05-19T14:11:00.000-07:00

I was going through pictures on my computer at work and found some fun ones from graduation weekend. This year, my cousin Rachel became the third Lowrie to graduate from HPU! It was so much fun to be able to spend my working weekend with my grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousins. Being the campus photographer, I end up working lots of events, so it's always nice to get to see friends and family and celebrate fun times together!

Lowrie family at Rachel's graduation: Me, Uncle Steve,

Aunt Debbie, Daniel, BJ, Papa, Rachel, Sarah
Baby Ben and Grandmother

Me and Rachel at Senior Salute

My friend and co-worker Kristy and I were framed

This was supposed to be our exhausted picture ... haha

This is a bonus picture that I took today as I walked out
of the back door of Packer (my new office building).
Pretty good view if I say so myself!

Blessing on the Border

2010-05-17T16:35:00.000-07:00

My dad is officially the new senior pastor for the First Baptist Church of El Paso. While dad and mom have been talking to the search committee since around January, I truly believe God has been preparing them for this day for their whole lives. I can't tell you how much of a blessing it was to be a part of this life-changing weekend with my family.

During the weekend, dad shared his heart with the church and told them about the vision that God has given him for this border city. Dad truly believes that Jesus is going to change the city of El Paso, spilling over into Juarez, with the potential of going all the way down the Texas/Mexico border. He shared with the church yesterday that "Jesus is the answer" and it is so true! Only Jesus can save the thousands that are hurting and dying in this ever-increasing war on the border.

While El Paso was rated the second safest city in America this year, the city of Juarez is one of the most dangerous cities in the world, and it is literally right across the river. We drove along the border and it is just astounding the differences.

FBC is so warm and welcoming. I was really blessed by the people and feel like this will be a great place for my family to serve. While there was some confusion as to whether I was the 16-year-old or Mrs. Lowrie, I let everyone know I was daughter #1 and would not be living there, but hopefully visiting often. haha. I really had a wonderful time this weekend, and God blessed all of us with such a peace about this new chapter for the Lowrie family. I cannot wait to see what God has in store!

Here are some pictures I took this weekend of this new and exciting city:

Outside view of FBC

Inside the sanctuary

Inside view between old building and new building

Lowrie Family!

view of the mountains

View of Mexico

View of El Paso from up on Franklin mountain

Me and Jamie on Franklin mountain

Hot Dog-O! I'm headed to El Paso!

2010-05-12T19:36:00.000-07:00

One night this past Christmas my dad, Phil and I were watching a great inspirational sports movie - Glory Road. (In case you didn't know this about me, I don't like sports, but I LOVE inspirational sports movies! They always make me cry!) Well, if you aren't familiar with this one, it's about this coach, Don Haskins, who moved to the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and brought in all of these new players to the school, many of which were African American. Well, he proceeded to play the first full starting line-up of African American players and they ended up winning something. Haha, ok, I really don't know a whole lot about the story, but there is this part when one of the players was going through the line in the cafeteria and he was offered a taco, burrito or nacho. He asked for a "hot dog-o," but they didn't have any. My dad and I started joking about that all of the time. We had no idea that just five months later he would be going to El Paso in view of a call to become the next pastor for the First Baptist Church.

I'm so excited for Dad, Mom and Madie as they embark on this new journey. I never really imagined them moving to a place like El Paso, but I know that God has great things in store for them! I'm also so thankful that I get to go with them this weekend and be a part of this exciting time in their lives. I'm so glad I get to see this new place that will soon be my family's home.

I don't know if we are going to find any hot dog-o's while we are there this weekend, but it should be exciting nonetheless. I'll be sure to tell you all about it when I get back!

Lucky Bamboo

2010-05-04T08:54:00.000-07:00

I've spent my day sifting through files, photos and just stuff that has accumulated in my office over the past four years. We are starting to move things over to our new offices in Packer and should be all set up by next week.

As a junior in college, when I came to interview for the "Hometown News Coordinator" student worker position, I had no clue that one day I would be Director of Media Relations. It is amazing to look back and see God's provision all along. He knew I was right where I needed to be and He knew that my entire plan for my life would change in such an effortless, natural way.

God is so good to guide and direct us and prepare us for what is to come.

Looking around my office, there are many momentos from my years at the Harrison House. Pictures from events, copies of the LINK that turn up everywhere, cards and pens and a bamboo plant.

My bamboo plant is probably my favorite thing in my office, and sadly I can't take it with me to my new office, because I have no windows and it would die. So, bamboo will be moving home with me. My friend Danielle gave this plant to me back in 2008 when we just became friends. It had something to do with One Tree Hill, I can't even remember exactly what it was about, but I remember that it only had three little leaves on it at the time and I was sure that my lack of a green thumb was going to kill it in a week. Well, here we are two years later and look how beautiful it is! It has grown and thrived and become so much more than I ever thought that it would. This may be kind of sappy, but I feel like it's kind of a metaphor for my time here. Starting out, I knew barely anything and didn't think I'd make it past the summer. Now, here I am, thriving and growing! I still have a long way to go, but God's right there with me, leading and guiding me every step of the way.

I feel like God is preparing my heart for some new things in the future and I am really looking forward to seeing what He has in store. His plans are so much better than mine and so I'm trusting Him to lead me on this great adventure known as life.

Flamingos in the Front Yard

2010-05-03T08:18:00.000-07:00

On my way to work this morning,

I stumbled upon an unusual sight -
flamingos in the front yard.
It was so funny, I just had to share!

Lawyers and a Library

2010-05-02T18:50:00.000-07:00

I had a great weekend! Yesterday I went to Waco to see my friends Cassie and Lauren graduate from Baylor Law School! It was a really neat ceremony including an address from John Lee Hancock, director of "The Blind Side," who is actually a Baylor Law grad. I am so proud of Cassie and all of her hard work! We have been friends since our very first day at HPU, almost 8 years ago, and it was really neat to be a part of this special day in her life. Lauren and I haven't known each other quite as long. While we did go to HPU together, our first bonding took place in Europe during the summer of 2008. She was studying along with Cassie in Austria, and her best friend Danielle and I decided to take a trip to visit them. We were also bridesmaids together in Cassie's wedding last year. Lauren and Cassie helped each other acheive this amazing accomplishment known as law school graduation and I'm so proud of both of them!!!

Me, Cassie, Lauren and Jessie

After the graduation, I went to College Station to see my friend Kate. We spent the afternoon at the George Bush Presidential Library, which may sound nerdy to some, but I really enjoyed it! haha. I actually learned a lot about Poppy and Bar (their nicknames for each other, cute, right?)! Bush was in the army during WWII, then he went into the oil business in Midland, became a U.S. Senator, U.N. Ambassador, Director of the CIA, Vice President and then President. Quite a resume if I say so myself! I'm glad Kate was willing to appease me by going to the museum/library. I had a lot of fun!

Bush and I talked some politics

Kate worked on some foreign relations with China

I think I might be a Press Secretary someday, what do you think?

Gleeful Beauty

2010-04-29T15:09:00.000-07:00

Last night I was watching one of my favorite shows, Glee (which is awesome, if you aren't watching it, you should be!), and it was a really great episode about beauty. In addition to the wonderful music throughout the show, it really sent a message about accepting yourself for you are and not conforming to the pressures of those around you. It really struck a chord with me, because like everyone in the world, I struggle with my self image from time to time.

As I was thinking about it, I was reminded of my friend Jessica, who would always say this verse from Zephaniah when we were in college "The King is enthralled by your beauty!" She loved the word entralled and loved to speak that over us. It was an encouragement - the maker of the universe, the King of kings is entralled with my beauty! If that isn't an ego booster, I don't know what is, haha.

I even went to a luncheon today and the speaker was talking about inward beauty and how that is so much more important than outward beauty. And I believe that's true! Your character and who you really are deep inside means so much more than the clothes you wear, your haircut and make-up and even, gasp, your weight!

God loves me for who I am and thinks I'm beautiful - I guess I needed to be reminded of that today. And guess what - He loves YOU too and thinks YOU are beautiful! Be encouraged! The King is entralled by your beauty! ;)

The Legend of the Bluebonnet

2010-04-27T14:12:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite books when I was little was called "The Legend of the Bluebonnet." It explained how Texas got its state flower through an old Comanche folklore tale. I love bluebonnets! Today I had the day off - which was amazing - and so I drove around and found some of them. They are so pretty! God is so good to color His world and I'm thankful we get to enjoy the beauty!

The rest of my day was spent enjoying Steve's with one of my favorite friends, Brittany, reading in the park and taking a nap - all wonderful things! Tonight I'm planning on going to turbo-kick, an art show for my student worker and bible study in the park. What a wonderful day!

Sweet Reality

2010-04-19T13:57:00.000-07:00

The construction on Mims Auditorium and the Phelps Bible Building is complete! We held dedication ceremonies for both buildings last week and I wanted to show you some pictures of the sweet reality -

Mims looks the same on the outside... but check out the new seats!

pictures don't do it justice

The new Paul and Jane Meyer Faith and Life Leadership Center (part of Phelps)

Grace Chapel - my favorite place! It's so beautitful!

the stained glass is AWESOME! Inside the FLLC - the Wilson lobby

the new Abraham and Isaac statue Richard and Wanda Jackson Conference Room

As you can see, all of the renovations are beautiful! I am so excited to have both of these buildings back in use and look forward to many great memories to come!

April Showers

2010-04-18T14:14:00.000-07:00

April showers bring May flowers- that's how the saying goes, right? Well it has been showering around here lately. Figuratively and literally. The last week has been one of the busiest I've had in a long, long time. But, it's been really good! Let me give you a run down on what's been happening.

Last Saturday was HPU Fest - one of my favorite days every year! This year we had great performers like Ben Rector (my new fav! I love The Ben!), Katie Curry (HPU student who is just awesome!) and Jimmy Needham. The day was so much fun as I met up with old HPU friends like Katie Ellwood, Heather Gadsby, Jen and Brandon Johnson, Shannon Kelly and Rick Mayberry PLUS hung out with new HPU friends like Brittany, Jonathan, Beka, Cristal, Mike and Candice.

Then came Sunday when I got terribly sick and had to stay home all day long and prompted a rush to the doctor's office on Monday morning for lots of pills and a shot. Thankfully the shot worked and I was doing much better by Monday night - which was awesome because I was in charge of the HPU Family Picnic that night. It was so much fun! All the faculty and staff brought food and we just sat around and had dinner as a family. One of my favorite things about HPU is the family atmosphere and this night really encapsulated that!

The rest of the week at HPU was known as "Celebration Week" and it included faculty presentations, the Currie-Strickland Distinguished Lectures in Christian Ethics, Dedications of Mims Auditorium and the Paul and Jane Meyer Faith and Life Leadership Center, along with the Inauguration of Dr. Ellis. Whew. It was quite a week.

One of the new parts of my job is to help put together special events for campus and this week was put on by my office, so I was running around like a crazy person, but it was so worth it! I am especially thankful for my awesome student workers who went above and beyond the call of duty - working lots of extra hours to help us get everything taken care of! They are awesome and I was so proud of them!

My Dad got to come in on Thursday night and take part in the festivities. He was the speaker during the Community Worship Service on Friday morning and he did an awesome job! The words he shared were so beautiful and I was, once again, so proud of him! Everyone who was there came up to me afterwards to tell me how touching it was and I agree! God has truly gifted him as a speaker and I am blessed everytime I hear him! I love my daddy!

I have some pictures of the new buildings at my office that I will post tomorrow. If you are an HPU alum, you will not believe the transformation in Mims and the chapel in Phelps. Both buildings are just breath-taking! I'm so glad to have them back in use again! These two buildings house a lot of my favorite memories from my time as a student and it has been sad to have them closed for so long. But they are back and better than ever!

Easter Tales

2010-04-05T17:31:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you were blessed this weekend remembering the sacrifice that Jesus made for each of us! During Dad's sermon yesterday he reminded us that Easter isn't just about the Resurrection - which is amazing - but it is also about the death that Jesus endured for us. His love is so much greater than I can comprehend and I know that I take it for granted too often.

I just got home from a great weekend with my family in Canyon! I had Friday AND Monday off, so it made for an extra special 4 day trip at home. On Friday, I got to go over to my friends Cliff and Jess Cary's house to meet their precious new baby boy Camden Scott. He is so adorable and I loved getting to meet him! Jess is one of my best friends from college and I am so thankful for her in my life! I can't believe she's a mommy now! Little Camden is blessed with some awesome parents!!!

I also had some great sister bonding time with Jamie and Madie. Lorin and Phil couldn't make it up for Easter, and we missed them a lot! It is hard growing up and realizing that our whole family togetherness time is going to be fewer and farther between. But, we did get to skype with them, so that was fun! I have such a precious family and I am so thankful for them!

While at home I did the usual good stuff - saw a movie, went shopping, hung out with my parents at Barnes & Noble. I also got to spend some time with my friend Cristal (aka Lorin's best friend), which was great!

On Sunday we had our annual Easter lunch with my mom's students. There were 15 internationals that joined us for a feast and it was a lot of fun! I got to talk with one of Mom's students about Taiwan because that's where he is from and that was really great! He was impressed with all that I did while I was there! It is always neat to have Mom's students join us for special holidays. I know it's going to be a crazy week, so I'm really glad I had this nice restful weekend to get re-energized!

It's Spring Again

2010-03-31T19:00:00.000-07:00

"It's spring again, it's spring again. Do you know how I know? All the leaves are on the trees and the grass is starting to grow!"

I learned this little poem when I was in Kindergarten and decided that I was going to recite it in our school talent show. It has some other verses I don't remember, but you get the gist. Isn't it funny the things that stay with you?

Well, it is spring and I'm so glad! This picture is the view from out of my office window at the Harrison House. Isn't this tree beautiful? I love all of the blooms everywhere on campus right now! I hope you are all enjoying the spring! Isn't it fun to be outside again? I love all of the green and the flowers and the sunshine. What a wonderful time of year!

I'm only going to have this view for a couple more weeks, because I am moving offices as soon as we wrap up Dr. Ellis' inauguration. I went over and looked at my new office yesterday. I like the furniture and the area looks really nice! The sad thing is that I don't have a window at all. I'm going to miss my view out of my eight different windows, but I'll survive!

It's so hard to believe that I won't be working at the Harrison House any more. This has been my home away from home for the past 5 years. I started working there my junior year of college and have been around ever since. My friend Kristy's son Tyler even calls it "Kalie's house." He actually thinks I live there, although one day he was really puzzled about where my bed was. I know I'm going to miss having Kristy right across the hall, but change is good, right? I am looking forward to being in a more centralized place on campus. Hopefully this move will help me stay more connected with everything going on. It does double my commute, though. Instead of leaving my apartment at 8:00 and arriving at work at 8:00, I may have to leave closer to 7:57 or so, depending on the traffic crossing Austin Avenue. haha.

Le Jour de l'An

2010-03-28T19:09:00.000-07:00

I have been back from Taiwan for two weeks and so I'm sure you are all wondering ... where am I going for my next trip? Well, good news! I just bought tickets to Paris for Le Jour de l'An (aka New Years)! I'm so excited!!! Danielle and I are planning to meet in Paris on December 28 and spend seven glorious days there. Her mom may be coming with us as well, I'm still not sure yet. Either way, it's going to be another great adventure! It was kind of complicated coordinating my travel from Dallas and her's from Taipei to arrive in Paris at the same time, but we worked it out. :) Now, I just wish that it wasn't nine months away!

This will definitely be the most exciting New Year's celebration I've ever been a part of! I'm looking forward to ringing in 2011 with one of my best friends in one of my favorite cities! What could be better?

Man, I Feel Like a Woman

2010-03-23T19:45:00.000-07:00

I'm an adult. The signs have been creeping up for a while now. College graduation was the first tip off. Followed by the full-time job, bills, 10 p.m. bedtime, you know the story. Many of you are probably experiencing it too. My 25th birthday was definitely the turning point, there's no going back. It's not that I haven't wanted to be considered grown-up. I think I was born mature and I've always acted older than I am. I want to be grown-up, I just don't want to be old. You know what I mean?

This last week I realized that not only am I grown-up, and an adult. I'm also a woman. Haha. This sounds a little more drastic than I mean it to be. What I'm referring to is that I'm now being involved in "Women's ministries." Last Thursday I was elected for the third year as an officer in the HPU Woman's Club and during the meeting I was invited to be involved in the Women's Ministry at my church. I'm honored to serve in both ministries, it's just funny because it suddenly hit me - I'm an adult woman. Whoa! Times, they are a changing - and I'm glad. I'm looking forward to the Lord using me in new ways, it's just new territory and may take some getting used to.

Medical Masks and a 3D Wonderland

2010-03-20T12:12:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we took a break. It had been such a busy week, that we really needed some down time, so that morning we stayed in pajamas and watched movies and just enjoyed hanging out. Around 4 we headed to Miramar which is a fun area about an hour from Danielle's apt. via the reliable transportation venue known as the MRT.

We met up with Danielle's friend Jenny and went to dinner at T.G.I.Friday's. (If you are keeping track, this was my second time at Friday's and yes, we ate American food a lot!) Jenny is another friend from the university, and she's really sweet! We had a great time hanging out with her, and she actually helped us film a little more for the music video. Danielle and I bought some cute medical masks the day before and so, we decided the Miramar mall would be a great place for them to make their appearance! We wore them up and down the escalator while Jenny filmed us and we did get a few looks! Then we went outside, where it was raining, but the ferris wheel was lit up and it was so fun!

It was about 7:15 now, which meant we needed to rush upstairs for the main event - we were seeing Alice in Wonderland in 3D at the IMAX! Whoa! I know, sounds crazy and intense, right? Well it was! I had never seen a movie at the IMAX or in 3D, so both at once was quite a thrill. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it! I would recommend it!

Then we rode the fun ferris wheel and got a good view of the city lit up at night. Our way home on the MRT was an adventure as well. First, I didn't get the memo that we were changing trains at one point and almost stayed on while Danielle and Jenny got off. Seeing as how I hadn't been paying attention at all that week on where we were, where we were going or how to get back to Danielle's, I'm really thankful that I realized they left before the doors closed and I was lost forever.

Then, while we were in the Main Station, Danielle and I hopped on a train heading home (so we thought). We got to a stop that Danielle didn't recognize and we realized we were on the Orange line - which is not the way home. (Side note: earlier that day Danielle had mentioned that the orange line was the only one I hadn't been on yet, so now I can say I've been on them all). So, we waited for another train to take us back to the main station, hopped on and we were back again. We went down a level, got on another train and as soon as the doors closed, we both realized that we were on an orange train again! What are the chances? We both died laughing and I think everyone thought we were crazy foreigners. As soon as we got to the next station a train heading back to the main station was arriving at the same time, so we ran from one train to the other and headed back to the main station AGAIN. haha. I can report that this time we were certain that we were getting on a green and 30 minutes later than we anticipated, we arrived at Danielle's home MRT. Whew! It was so funny and every trip has to have at least one story like this, right? I don't think you can truly say it's an adventure if you don't get lost at least once!

On Sunday we went back to the jade market in the morning and then met up with Simon again for the much anticipated "Lunch with Kalie Lowrie" and the WT students in Taipei. We ate at this really neat restaurant called Five Dimes which looked kind of like a sunken ship. Several of my mom's former students met us there including Dana, Shiang, Alli, Joey, Ching and Vicky. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed all of the food they ordered!

That afternoon we finished filming our video with the rooftop scences and the cute little girls. Then we finalized "Just Dance, Taipei," had dinner with Ken and Sharyl and I packed up my stuff. Danielle went with me to the airport on Monday morning and then I headed back home via Tokyo.

Can I just say that I'm kind of sad to be writing this last post, because that means my trip is really officially over. :( Here are some other tell-tale signs that I'm back to reality-

1. I unnpacked my suitcase this morning, which basically meant putting all of the contents into my dirty clothes basket

2. I slept for 12 hours last night, hopefully helping me to finally get over the jet lag that has slowed me down all week.

3. My facebook pictures are posted -I condensed my 750 pics down to 132 for those who are interested, click here.

Well, this concludes the Adventures of Danielle and Kalie in Taiwan. I hope you enjoyed it! I have had a great time sharing all of my favorite stories from my amazing trip to the beautiful country of Taiwan!

Monkeys at the Zoo

2010-03-18T04:16:00.000-07:00

Well, it's 6 a.m. and guess who's up? Me! Yep - jet lag and I have become good friends over the past few days. Apparently my body thinks that 6 is my new wake up time, but if that's the only repercussion from an awesome trip, then I'll take it! If you haven't been able to tell from all of my pictures and stories - this was one of my favorite trips EVER! And I'm having so much fun blogging about it and sharing all of my memories.

On Friday, Danielle went into work in the morning and I got to go with her. I met all of her co-workers and even got to be a part of a birthday party! There was some awesome chocolate cake involved, which was great!

This was our day to go to the Taipei Zoo and let me just share this crazy story from the way to the zoo. We got on the MRT and I just happened to look at this guy sitting down beside us and he looked familiar. Keep in mind that I know a whole whopping like 6 people in this country so I didn't really think it was possible to know him. He looked up at me, though and put his glasses on and it turns out it was Danielle's friend Eugene that I had met the previous Saturday. Isn't that so crazy! In a city of 3 million, the chances of running into someone I know is like 0.000000001% and it happened!

Ok, now to the zoo - it only cost $2 to get in, which was awesome! Especially considering that this was the best zoo we'd ever been to! The Taiwanese are very visual people and this zoo was so aesthetically pleasing. The way they divided the animals up was by geographic area and when you were in that section, it looked like that part of the world! Australia felt like a jungle, the penguin area was like the Artic with evergreen trees and snowcapped glaciers, there was Africa and Asia and Formosa - it was all so neat! We saw Frankie the giant Panda - which was really cool! And you know - lions, tigers, bears (oh my!), monkeys, flamingos, koalas, giraffes, rhinos and hippos and just about anything you can think of, we probably saw it.

Our favorite animals were the monkeys - which is so funny! I think they were the most lively and entertaining, so we found ourselves drawn to them a lot. We had been saying all week that we felt like monkeys, because people liked to stare at us a lot, so it was really funny that they were our favorites! This little family of chimps provided us with entertainment for quite a while!

The zoo is also one of the great locations from our music video. Danielle set up her tripod and flip camera on the ground outside the entrance (drawing quite a crowd) and we did some dancing. There's a couple of times in the video when you see me dancing kind of awkwardly - that is was my warm up when I didn't know Danielle was filming ... hence the awkward, haha.

That night we went with Ken and Sharyl to "Green Tablecloth" which is their favorite restaurant in their neighborhood. It was really good food! My favorite that night was the Kung Po chicken, but I actually liked the pinapple shrimp too, which was really surprising if you know me and my disdain for eating almost anything under the sea. After dinner we filmed some more for the video in the night market area. Ken makes a cameo appearance during our awkward dance - he's the high five guy.

To close Friday, I'll leave you with my favorite picture and quote of the day from Danielle:

"There are so many good things about us that we like!"

Chasing Waterfalls

2010-03-17T03:57:00.000-07:00

Thursday we went with Ken and Sharyl to a little village south of Taipei called Wulai to see the awesome waterfall there. No one had been before so it was quite an adventure! We took the MRT (metro) to a stop called Gonguan and then the only instructions that we had were to look for an unnumbered bus by a 7-Eleven. Amazingly enough we found a bus (which did have a number!), hopped on and away we went. It's funny because we had no idea where the bus was taking us really and so we just rode it to the very last stop and then started walking. It was fun to get out of the city center into a more rural area.

One thing that really struck me was the mix of cultures. We were in the middle of this small town in Taiwan and there were Mazda's and BMW's on the road and English music playing in the little stores. Wulai is known for their aboriginal people and so they had native headdresses and costumes right next to a can of Coke. Crazy!

We ended up walking all the way to the waterfall and it was so beautiful! We were on this windy road on the side of a mountain with wildflowers growing on it. There was a river that some people were swimming in, which we thought was crazy because it was still kind of chilly. But it turns out that there were hot springs there, so the people weren't as crazy as we thought.

The waterfall was breathtaking! It was over 300 ft. high and we took a cable car up above it into this mountain. At the top of the mountain we climbed lots and lots of stairs but it was worth it for the view! The scenery was beautiful!

There was this little amusement park up at the top that must have been closed for the season but it was pretty comical. Danielle and I also road a little ride which was so weird but we had fun! I think it was supposed to be scary because they had all of these things popping up at you and moving around. Danielle screamed when she heard a sound like a gun and then I screamed as a gigantic spider was attacking us. We spent about an hour and a half walking around then took the cable car back down and did some filming for our music video.

To get back to the village we took this little bitty train which was really funny. When we were back in Wulai I tried bamboo rice, which apparently is really famous there. It was sticky rice and other things (meat?) that had been cooked inside of a bamboo shoot. It was actually pretty good! I tried to be adventurous at least once everyday and usually it turned out alright. :)

That night Danielle and I went to dinner at a restaurant called The Diner which served all American food and even had Dr. Pepper! All in all it was a really fun day!

Foreigner Day in Taipei

2010-03-16T04:40:00.000-07:00

I made it back to the good old U.S. of A yesterday around 4 p.m. our time, I think it was 5 a.m. on Tuesday in Taiwan. After such an amazing trip, I must admit that it was really hard to say goodbye to Danielle. We had SO MUCH fun together over the past week! I am so thankful for my sweet friend!

Now, I'm going to continue sharing about our adventures:

Wednesday - Foreigner Day

This was probably my favorite full day of fun. We started out in the morning heading to the hot springs at Beitou with Bev. It was so beautiful! We went to this placed called Beitou Thermal Valley which was the natural hot spring. It was boiling water that was around 90 degrees Celsius! There was all of this steam coming off of the water due to the heat and it felt so mystical. Then we went to the public hot springs pools.

There were four levels of pools with increasing temperatures. We started out in the bottom pool and can I just say that they must not see foreigners often, because everyone was staring at us like we were monkeys or something. It's hard not be self-conscious when you have over 100 pairs of eyes staring at you, but oh well, what can you do? We went up to the third pool, and it was too hot to even stick our feet in. Danielle hopped out really fast and everyone laughed. I knew that if she couldn't handle it, I probably couldn't either, so we headed down to the second pool which didn't seem that hot anymore. After about 20 more minutes we were done with the hot pools. It was nice and relaxing, but you don't want to stay in too long or you get overheated!

That afternoon Danielle and I headed to Taipei 101. I don't know if you remember my post about this one, but 101 is actually a large skyscraper that was the world's tallest building until the end 0f 2009, not a class on the history of Taipei, haha. This was so much fun! Obviously it is the tallest building that I've ever seen in my life! We went up to the observation deck on the 89th floor and got an awesome view of this incredible city! Then we went up to the 91st floor which had an outdoor deck. It was freezing cold, so we didn't stay out too long, but Danielle was able to find the area where she lives, so that was fun! We also identified some of the big sights like the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial, Miramar and the MacArthur bridges (named for Gen. MacArthur!!).

One really interesting thing about this building is that there is this HUGE gold ball in the center of the building (I think it was on the 91st floor) that stabilizes the entire skyscraper. When the wind blows the building, this ball makes sure it doesn't topple over - isn't that crazy? It kind of freaked me out. What if the huge wire cables holding it up snapped? We'd be crushed - literally!

After 101, we headed to the Shilin Night Market. Sharyl met up with us there and it was really neat! Night markets are really big in Taiwan - everyone goes to them. There are vendors everywhere with food, clothes, shoes and almost anything else you can imagine. I tried the famous black pearl milk tea here and it was really pretty good. It was black tea w/ milk and these little black tapioca balls. The weirdest part was chewing something while drinking - not something I'm really used to. I also tried dumplings and flat bread which were both really good. We went over to the food market area and it was pretty crazy! The smells were not so good - stinky tofu, oyster omelets and lots of other things. As you can see, this was a day full of new experiences - very different, but all so fun!

Just Dance, Taipei Style!

2010-03-14T04:34:00.000-07:00

Check out the fun dancing adventures of me and Danielle throughout Taipei. Special thanks to Ken, Sharyl, Jenny, Simon, Dana, Shiang, Ching, Alli, Joey, Vicky, Melody, Carmen, panda, and the random others who didn't know they were filmed that helped make this video so AWESOME! When in doubt, just dance!

If you are having problems viewing this video, you should go here! You do not want to miss out on this. I promise!

Hao Kan

2010-03-11T18:20:00.000-08:00

We have done so much since the last time that I wrote that I'm not sure where to begin! First of all, Taiwan is beautiful and Taipei is just amazing! I think it is one of the most unique cities I've ever been to. It's very metropolitan but then there are mountains and streams randomly dispersed everywhere. It's really green and pretty here. They are definitely in spring right now - flowers are blooming everywhere and everything is luscious and you know, gorgeous!

Monday - A Drive up the Coast

Danielle's boss' wife Bev (remember her name because I'll talk about her a lot!) took us on a drive up to the Northern Coast. It was AMAZING! Now I can say I've seen the Pacific Ocean from both sides - crazy! It was a rainy day so the water was really choppy and the waves were huge! We were kind of on a cliff, so we looked down a couple hundred feet to the water (I think, I'm not a good judge of distance).

Then we went to this little village called Jiu Fen which was so quaint and fun! It reminded us of Europe. There were cobblestone streets and tiny little roads with shops all along - that is one thing that I have not had a hard time finding here - shopping! It's everywhere! I've had to try to contain myself b/c I could go pretty crazy very easily! Especially when the money I have feels like play money and I don't have a good sense of how much everything is in American dollars. (For instance I accidentally ordered $6 gelato the other day - that is ridiculous in any country, but oh well, I'm on vacation!)

We had lunch at this little restaurant with an awesome view of the coast! This was also my favorite Chinese meal so far - I got pepper beef and it tasted like pot roast. Pretty wonderful! Then we drove back to Taipei, which took about an hour and a half. We were pretty wiped out by this point because we had been busy for three solid days, plus I was still recovering from jet lag. So, we had dinner at this cute little pizza place by Danielle's apt. called Mary Jane's then stayed in that night.

Tuesday - An American Day in Taipei

Danielle went into work on Tuesday morning and I took a while getting ready. Then, Bev came and picked me up to go get a haircut. I was a little nervous about getting my haircut in Taiwan, because I was afraid I would turn out looking Asian, haha. But Danielle said it was so much fun that I just had to try. The whole experience took an hour and half - including a hand, neck and shoulders massage with scented oils, calming tea and a great head massage! It was so relaxing and a great way to get refreshed! Danielle met us there and got her hair cut too. Then we headed to the National History Museum to see the Van Gogh exhibit that was on display.

I didn't realized it before I went, but I have seen a lot of Van Gogh in my life - in Paris, London, Chicago, New York. I've seen a lot of his really famous works too, so I wasn't really that impressed with this exhibit, but it was fun to see it with Danielle and impart a little bit of my knowledge of impressionism on her. She was enlightened, of this I am sure. Haha. The painting that I liked the most was called "Flowers in a Blue Vase." We even got to ride on a Van Gogh bus to the exhibit. It reminded me of the Sound of Music tour bus we rode on in Salzburg, so it was fun!

That night was went with Danielle's sweet co-workers, Ken and Sharyl, to Ximen which is a super fun area that reminds me of Times Square in New York. They have the big video screens, tons of American stores and lights everywhere. It was a lot of fun. We had dinner at T.G.I.Friday's and then walked around. I said this was my American day, because it felts like things we would do in the states. (that's what they call the US here)

Adventures of Danielle and Kalie in Taiwan

2010-03-07T15:52:00.000-08:00

Greetings from Taiwan!

I am having such a wonderful time on the beautiful island of Taiwan and I already feel like I've seen so much in just a few short days! I arrived on Friday evening after about 24 hours of traveling and was pretty exhausted, BUT Danielle picked me up at the airport and it was so wonderful to see her that I forgot all about being tired! I have missed my sweet friend so much and seeing her face was just amazing!

We caught a taxi into the city and Danielle was able to tell him how to get to her apt. in Chinese! I was so impressed! We spent a lot of time talking (we had 3 months to catch up on!) and I saw her really cute apartment and then gave her a suitcase full of gifts that I brought for her. Her family and friends had sent all kinds of goodies and it was so fun to see her face as she got each present. Thanks to everyone who sent something! Believe me, she loved it all!

On Saturday we grabbed breakfast at Starbucks then took a walk around her neighborhood. There are so many people, bikes, cars, crowded streets, alleys, buildings, signs and advertising everywhere that it is very visually stimulating. But it is so neat!

That afternoon we went with some of Danielle's friends from the university to this place called Danshui. It's this beautiful area north of Taipei city that sits right on the Danshui River. There was a mountain across the river with mist all around on the left and then a market on the right. Danielle's friends would go buy food from the street vendors and then bring it to us to try. Here are some examples of things that were offered to us: black eggs, octopus balls, shrimp cookies, watermelon juice, fried mushrooms with cinnamon, tarot root ice cream, candied strawberries (my fav) and oyster pancakes. It was quite an experience! I didn't try it all, but I tried my fair share, and I must admit that Danielle was braver than me. She actually sucked a tiny sea urchin out of a shell and ate it. All in all it was a wonderful day! Her friends are so generous, kind and fun to be around! I was amazed by their English and how much Danielle is already picking up in Chinese! I stuck to my "ni hao" (hello) and "xie xie" (thank you).

Yesterday (Sunday) we went to a jade and flower market in the morning and then met up with my friend Simon, one of my mom's former students, who lives in Taiwan and wanted to take us around the city. First, we had lunch at a Cantanese restaurant Danielle refers to as "Ducks in the Window." Why, you may ask? Because there are literally roasted ducks and chickens hanging in the windows. There's no doubt about what you are eating because they just take it off the stick, chop it up and hand it to you.

Then we went to the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial (pictured) and saw changing of the guard and LOTS of boy and girl scouts, Longshun Temple and the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Memorial (where they were having a lantern festival! Here's a great quote from one of the lanterns - "Clouds at the riding by fully energy to the New Year!") Simon was a great tour guide because he could tell us the history of the city, the significance of the people, read all of the signs and translate for us! He was so kind to take us around and we had a great time. We had dinner at a Japanese restaurant called "Mos Burger" and then Simon went home. We'll met up again with him next Sunday for lunch along with several of the WT students that live in the area.

That's all for now! Look forward to more adventures of Danielle and Kalie coming soon!

Bachelor Jake Finale

2010-03-02T17:45:00.000-08:00

Ok, so my bachelor predictions back in January may have been a little off. But I must say that I did pretty well. I predicted that Jake would pick either Ali or Tenley. Ali made it to the final four but then made her own choice to leave the show for her job (how could I have seen that coming?). She was my favorite, and apparently America's too because last night they announced she is going to be the next Bachelorette! I guess this time she's going to choose "love" over her career. Definitely will be tuning in next season, what can I say? I'm addicted to this crazy, improbable show that almost never works out!

Then on to Tenley, who made it to the final rose ceremony last night. She was such a sweetheart, and I will admit that she made me cry a little last night when Jake rejected her. Tenley expressed so much dignity and grace as Jake told her she wasn't his choice. She actually thanked him for being honest with her and not leading her on when there wasn't more there. How many people do you know that would thank someone for breaking their heart?

Jake ended up picking Vienna, who was probably my last choice. I have to say, even though I read the spoilers and knew it was coming all along I was still hoping down to the very end that it wasn't true. Sorry guys, I just did not like that girl for Jake. I hope they are happy, though. Everyone deserves happiness, even though the likelihood of Jake and Vienna staying together after meeting on The Bachelor is like 2 to 11.

While watching the finale last night, my sister Lorin called me to tell me this crazy story. Her husband Philip was watching for a few minutes with her during the segment when the girls were meeting Jake's family. Phil thought that he recognized one of Jake's brothers and it turns out that he was Phil's tutor in medical school. Isn't that so crazy? He's actually a student at UTMB in Galveston. It's such a small world sometimes.

Taiwan: Country #10

2010-03-02T17:24:00.000-08:00

In two short days I am heading to Taipei, Taiwan to visit one of my best friends, Danielle. I'm amazed to say that this will be the 10th country that I have had the privilege of visiting in the last 5 years. I never dreamed when I got my passport in 2001 that I would have so many stamps at this point! I mean I didn't even use it for the first 4 years!

In case you are curious about the countries I've been to, here's a list:

1. France - 2005 trip with Cassie to Paris
2. England - 2005 (see above) to London and 2009 to visit Erie in Oxford
3. Canada - 2005 trip across the border with family
4. China - 2006 mission trip with Dad to Guilin
5. Italy - 2007 trip with Cassie to Venice, Florence and Rome
6. Mexico - 2008 cruise with Katie to Cozumel and Progresso
7. Austria - 2008 European adventure with Danielle to Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck
8. Czech Republic - 2008 (see above) to Prague
9. Hungary - 2008 (same trip) to Budapest
10. Taiwan - 2010 trip to Taipei to visit Danielle

This trip will be my longest travel experience yet - a 13 hr flight from DFW to Tokyo and then another 4 hrs to Taipei. But it will be well worth it when I get to see Danielle at 7:30 p.m. on Friday! (I think that's 5:30 a.m. our time) I will try to give an update or two while I am in Taiwan and then will definitely give a full report when I get back.

Snow in the Wood

2010-02-23T13:24:00.000-08:00

As I write this blog I'm sitting on my couch, in my warm, comfy clothes. The heater is running, my iPod is on shuffle, at least 4 inches of snow is covering the ground and I just put down a good book. It doesn't get much better than this!

I love snow! One of all time favorite Gilmore Girls moments is an episode when Lorelei describes her love for snow. It's just such a magical phenomenon (in Texas at least) that is so beautiful, clean and quiet. Snow is calming and comforting to me - plus it is so much fun to play in! This morning, before we closed for the day, I went around and took some pictures of the HPU campus covered in snow. The snow was untouched at the point, because students hadn't gotten out in it yet, and it was breathtaking. Imagine one of your favorite places on earth wrapped in a white blanket - that's what I had the pleasure of seeing!

One of the many reasons I love snow is because it reminds me of living in Wisconsin. I actually wore my snow boots that I bought when I lived up there today and I may have been the only person on campus with warm, dry feet! All of the snow that we have had this year fails to compare to a true Northern winter! I think our first year that we lived there one storm brought 3 feet of snow in one day - THREE FEET! It was incredible! I remember Madie was 4 or 5 and jumped into a big pile in our little front yard. She lost one of her boots and we didn't find it again until 3 months later when all of the snow had finally melted. I actually learned to drive in the snow and I blame my poor parallel parking skills on it. I always end up about a foot away from the curb, which coincidentally is how far the snow stuck out. :) Winterfest, sledding, snow angels and snowball fights, oh it was so much fun!

Snow doesn't slow you down in Wisconsin - you just put on another layer and go on with your day. But in the eyes of a frozen Texan it was so wonderful. If every snow I see for the rest of my life reminds me of Wisconsin, then I will be a happy person!

In the know

2010-02-14T17:52:00.001-08:00

I love to be "in the know." I don't know how to describe it beyond the fact that I just love to know as much as I can about everything - people, places and things (yep, all of the nouns).

I've known this about myself for a long time, but just recently I have noticed that I'm also a researcher. When I'm reading a story online, if there is a link, I'm probably going to click on it. Whether it provides some more details about whatever I'm interested in, has some photos or a video to watch or presents a new topic to consider, I'm hooked. Basically, I'm a constant clicker which leads me to some very interesting places on the web.

Today I had lunch with my friend Cassie and her husband, Tucker. It was so funny because at one point Tucker and I were comparing information that we have learned recently from the CIA world factbook. Apparently Tucker is a fellow researcher. We were talking about how neither one of us like to just read one story - we want to know more. We will go investigate to find the background information, more details on the story or what others are saying about it. Why do I love to know more?

I'm also a blog clicker. Ever since I started my blog back in July, I have become a big blog reader and fan. I love to see what other people are writing, what kind of style they use and get updates on my friends. Oftentimes I find myself reading a friend's blog, clicking on another blog they follow, clicking on something in that and before I know it, I'm lost in the blog-o-sphere (and I love it!).

Here's a good example - I was just reading my friend Caty's blog and she was talking about her ideal cast for a new movie based on the book The Hunger Games. Well, I'd never heard of The Hunger Games before, so I went to look it up on amazon.com and this is what I found. Did I mention that I also followed her link to some girl named Lenzi's blog? I don't know Lenzi but apparently she talked about this book on her blog. Now, you ask, did I need to know all of that? Probably not, but at least now if someone else is talking about The Hunger Games, I will know what's going on!

I think my job is well suited for this aspect of my personality. Essentially, it's my job to find out as much as I can about what is happening at HPU and share that information with everyone else. Isn't it great that God knew this about me way before I did and provided me the opportunity to use this crazy quirk for good?

(Did you click on any of the links that I put in this post? If so, you might be more like me than you think!)

Packing idiosyncrasy

2010-02-09T17:49:00.001-08:00

When preparing to go on a trip each person has their own priorities for packing. Some, like my mom, start packing weeks in advance, intentionally planning each article of clothing and accessory. Others wait until the very last minute and are pulling their clothes out of the dryer and throwing them into a suitcase while everyone else is sitting in the car ready to go (this would be my dad). I think I fall somewhere in between the two. I like to start thinking about what I'm going to bring in advance, and sometimes I make lists to ensure that I don't forget things, but I'm usually still throwing things into my suitcase at the last minute.

Clothes, accessories and toiletries are all important but here's my packing idiosyncrasy: the very first thing that I consider when I start preparing for a trip is what books I'm going to bring.

This may seem trivial to some, but books are so important to me. I love reading and trips are a great time to get in some good books. I usually remember what I read on a trip and associate them with my traveling. Picking the book up again reminds me of wherever I've been and memories come flooding back.

When I went to Italy with my friend Cassie I brought Dan Brown's Angels and Demons. I had been wanting to read a Dan Brown book for a while and this one turned out to be great. It was set in Rome and so as I traveled around the city I was able picture the book so much more vividly, because I was seeing what he was describing! Sometimes I like to bring challenging books with me that I wouldn't read otherwise and other times I bring fun books that are just enjoyable and make the time on the plane pass quickly. When I went to Milwaukee over Labor Day I brought Same Kind of Different as Me because I had heard great things about it, but couldn't make myself sit down and read it. Being on a plane with nothing else to do, I opened it up and couldn't put it down. It was incredible! On my spring break trip last year to England I brought Sophie Kinsella's Confessions of a Shopaholic and it was so much fun because it was set in London and I could identify with a lot of the references because I was there. I ended up buying the second and third book in the series on my trip because I couldn't get enough of them!

I usually bring two or three books to make sure that I never run out things to read - haha, I'm kind of embarrassed to admit this, but I think one of my biggest fears is facing a plane ride without adequate reading material.

So, in preparation for my trip to Taiwan, (which keep in mind is a 13 hour plane ride each way) I'm already thinking about what books I'm going to bring.

Here are some of my options -

Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
Love walked in by Marisa De Los Santos
The Gospel According to Lost by Chris Seay (my new Thomas Nelson book review book)
The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs
Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Sparkles by Louise Bagshawe
Traveling with Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor

This is quite the compilation, I realize, but they are all books that I have bought or received recently and want to read. I'll let you know what I end up picking - probably a combination of fun/fluff and interesting/challenging. While you are laughing at me and thinking how crazy I am, ask yourself this question. Do you have any packing idiosyncrasies?

Taipei 101

2010-02-04T17:37:00.000-08:00

In 29 days I'm boarding a plane with a final destination of Taipei, Taiwan. I'm so excited because I am going to visit one of my favorite people - my friend Danielle (who is currently living in the city of 2.6 million). Having never been that far east, I can't wait to see all that is to come during my Spring Break for 2010.

The other day Danielle was listing off places that we can go see while I'm in town - Longshan Temple, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Taipei 101. I figured the first two were buildings, but I was a little puzzled by Taipei 101. I assumed it was her Chinese class where she must also be learning about the history of the city. Turns out I was wrong, haha. Taipei 101 is actually a skyscraper that was the world's tallest building from 2004 to Jan. 4, 2010. Inside it is a entertainment superhouse - with a shopping mall, cinema, restaurants, observation deck and more. It sounds like so much fun! Danielle laughed at me when she realized my assumption, and rightly so. Unfortunately I don't know much about Taipei, but I'm looking forward to learning more!

I'm not sure all that we will do during my 10 day trip, but I know it is going to be so much fun. Danielle and I became travel buddies back in 2008 when we took an AWESOME trip to Europe together to visit our friends who were studying in Austria for the summer. Along the way we built a great friendship that has been such a blessing to me. I can't wait to see this new city that is now her home and to see my friend, who I have missed so much!

Mini Donut Cupcakes

2010-02-02T10:47:00.000-08:00

Dear blog readers,

I have found that while the main purpose for starting this blog was to share my travel stories, I have a lot of other random things I like to talk about as well (as I'm sure you have noticed if you are a frequent reader). So, for those of you who want to hear all about my exotic adventures, stay tuned - there will be plenty more to come {for instance, in just one month and 2 days I'm heading to Taipei, Taiwan! More on that later}. So, anyway, thanks for humoring me and for being such a great reader and friend - here's a little treat for you. I found a new recipe that is so simple and so good. It's from a new cookbook I bought called "Quick Fixes from Mixes."

Mini Donut Cupcakes

1 box of yellow cake mix
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake as the box directs and add nutmeg. Then, pour into mini muffin pans (that have been greased). Bake for about 14 minutes - you probably want to watch it because while it doesn't take as long to cook as cupcakes, it takes longer than you would think. Meanwhile, put the sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. When the mini cupcakes are done, let them cool for a few minutes (important, otherwise they tend to crumble - this is the voice of experience talking) and then roll them in the cinnamon/sugar mixture. And tada - all done. It's delicious, I promise! And when I made them yesterday I was able to get 6 dozen out of the mix. Enough to share with lots of people. But beware - they are so good that you can't just eat one, or two ... :)

Enjoy! and Happy Tuesday!

Trust and the One Year Bible

2010-01-28T18:45:00.000-08:00

This year I decided not to make any resolutions because inevitably I break them, thus they really aren't useful and instead I decided to set a goal in my daily life. I have decided to try to read the Bible in a year. I have had this goal for several years and the farthest I've been able to get is Numbers, so this year I bought a One year Bible to help me. This particular Bible breaks down daily readings into a passage from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs. I'm hoping this will help me be more consistent.

So far, I can say that I have read every entry this year - which for me is a big accomplishment in and of itself. I'm writing this on my blog so that you, my friends, will keep me accountable. I have found myself getting excited each night and rather than just checking the day off my list, I am looking forward to the next part of the story.

It has been really neat reading the Old Testament along with the New Testament at the same time. One parallel that I have really been pondering is the faith and trust of God's people, particularly that of Abraham and the disciples. When God asked Abraham to take Isaac up to the top of the mountain and sacrifice him, Abraham trusted God and was ready to sacrifice his beloved son, the one he had waited for for 100 years until at the last moment God intervened and stopped him. I can't imagine what was going through Abraham's head at that moment. He must have been heartbroken, confused, possibly angry and so unsure about what God was asking him to do and yet he went through with it. He trusted God. And God spared Isaac because of Abraham's faith.

The disciples displayed a similar faith when Jesus came to them and asked to drop their everything and follow him. The scripture doesn't say that they questioned him about logical things like, do I need to pack a bag? Where are we going to stay? Should I bring some money with me? How are we going to eat? It is almost incomprehensible to the planner in me to see how they could drop their nets and follow without getting some answers. And yet, they went out on faith, trusting Jesus and he provided for all of their needs.

In my Bible study on Tuesday night we were reading in Hebrews 3 and I read a really striking statement in my commentary that said "Lack of trust in God can prevent you from receiving his best." This made an impact on me and has caused me to really evaluate my faith and trust in God. I love him, trust him and believe in him - but am I still holding back? being cautious? asking too many questions?

Forever Friends

2010-01-20T17:11:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was so wonderful! I got together with all of my best friends from HPU and we had a blast! It has been years since we've all been together and yet it felt like just yesterday that we were little college freshmen. We played our favorite games, had a sing-a-long and baby shower, and spent lots of time catching up and laughing!

Our awesome 3West RA Michelle and her daughter Wren

Meredith and Stephanie playing Cranium

Me and Kate

We had a baby shower for Jess, who is due with Baby Cary in March

Suitemates from freshmen and sophomore year

Becca, me, Sarah and Brandi

The 2-East crew from 2003
Jess, Sarah Swimm, Sarah Gardner, Steph, Becca, me, Mere, Jan and Brandi

It's the little things ...

2010-01-15T13:02:00.001-08:00

I got this card in the mail yesterday from a vendor that we used recently. It made me smile. And yes, that is a blue sparkly lizard that came inside.

Special Memories with Special Friends

2010-01-14T19:37:00.000-08:00

I've been waiting and planning for this coming weekend since October. It's very special because it is the Third Annual Herd Reunion. The "herd" is comprised of my best friends from college. When we were freshmen, way back in 2002, we used to go everywhere together - traveling in a herd. After class we would meet up and head to the cafer together. We had too many late night talks to count - discussing everything from movies like Blue Crush to deep theological issues. Some of my favorite memories include playing with the big pink ball, burying our time capsule, April Fools Day, crazy suitemates, playing pranks on our RAs and so much more.

This year we actually have a special treat! Both of my RAs are going to get to come. Michelle was our RA on 3West when we were little freshmen that didn't know up from down. Then Sarah Gardner, aka "G", was our RA on 2East the next year. Both of these amazing ladies hold such a special place in my heart. They were our confidants and friends. I can't wait to reminisce and laugh and enjoy the moments that we have together. Our visits are fewer and farther between, but they are still so special. Thank you God, for my friends!

Reunion 2009 in Brownwood

Homecoming 2008

Reunion - December 2006
Graduation- May 2006

Spring Sing - March 2006

I have so many more pictures that were before the digital age. I'll have to scan some to post here! We'll miss several friends that can't make it - Cass, Maria, April, Hannah and Shannon - I love you and hope you can make it next year!

Bright Lights, Big City: Part Two

2010-01-12T17:38:00.000-08:00

Now, to continue my escapades around New York with my mom - on Saturday we headed to the New York Public Library where mom was able to acquire a very special card. Can you guess what kind of card it was? You're right! It was a library card! She was thrilled beyond belief that she was eligible for such a rare jewel and proceeded to try and use it the rest of the day to purchase things, much to her delight and my chagrin. Also, while we were at the library, we saw the original manuscript from Voltaire's book Candide, which was celebrating it's 250th year in publication. Mom was thrilled to see this because Voltaire is one of her favorite authors.

Then we headed to Greenwich Village, just to roam around and see what we could see. We walked by the NYU campus, stopped in Washington Square park and then saw the Washington Mews which are these quaint little homes that were once stables in the 1930s and were converted (for strange some reason) into residential living. The street is gated and still has cobblestone roads, a sweet little glimpse into the past. Apt. 14A was to home to artist Edward Hopper and several other notable people that have slipped my mind.

Washington Square Park Arch

The Washington Mews

After our little exploration, we headed back to the Upper East side (have I mentioned that this is my favorite part of NY?) to see the Metropolitan Museum of Art (aka the Met). Here was saw four more Vermeer paintings - which made a grand total of 7 on our trip which is really rare considering there are only around 34 known Vermeer paintings in the world! We also saw more paintings from Monet, Van Gogh, Renoir, Manet and went to my favorite room - the Temple of Dendur which is from c. 15 BC and has been reassembled to appear just as it did on the banks of the Nile. This room is incredible and I could sit and stare for hours.

A painting by Vermeer

The Temple of Dendur

But alas, we couldn't stay for hours because we had to head back to Times Square to see another Broadway show, this time a play. We saw "A View from the Bridge" by Arthur Miller. It was starring Scarlett Johansson (who is making her Broadway debut) and Liev Screiber (one of my new favorite bad guys - from Defiance and Wolverine). The play hasn't opened yet, so it was kind of like a rehearsal for them, and it was so good! Since it was written by Miller it was naturally tragic (Death of Salesman anyone?) but it was so dynamic and interesting that I found myself very wrapped up in the plot and forgetting to try to figure out what was going to happen. Liev was AWESOME and Scarlett was really good too. Being the big celebrity fans that we are, mom and I stood outside after the play to get photos and autographs. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get as close to them as I did to Paul Rudd (back on our first trip in 2001), but I did get Scarlett's autograph and Liev's picture. Here's an interesting fact that I learned about Scarlett (I learned this by going to imdb.com after we met, haha). She is one week younger than me! I'm so thankful that my worth is not measured by my fame, fortune and celebrity status, because I've got nothing on her. Another free fact is that she is surprisingly pretty short - 5'4. I know that's not really THAT short, but she was a lot smaller than I imagined that she would be.

My official autographed Playbill
(her autograph is over the word bridge)

If you look closely, you can tell this is Scarlett, I promise!

Liev Screiber

This was pretty much the end of our fantastic trip to NYC. We were up the next morning at 4 a.m. to make our flights from LaGuardia to Chicago to St. Louis to Dallas. Then I drove the three hours home and crashed. In case you can't tell, I had an awesome time. I am so thankful for my mom and our shared love of travel. We had a great time talking, laughing and enjoying the sights. I couldn't have asked for a better travel partner! Maybe we'll make this an annual trip!

Bright Lights, Big City: Part One

2010-01-11T15:44:00.001-08:00

My mom and I just got back from celebrating my Christmas present- a trip to New York City (the concrete jungle where dreams are made of, according to Jay Z) and we had an amazing time! We flew in on Thursday and left at the crack of dawn on Sunday morning, so we really only had two days to take in all of the sights, and believe me when I say we crammed the weekend full! My dad found us a great deal on a hotel just four blocks away from Times Square and only a block from Grand Central Station, and so we were really in the center of everything! The weather was pretty cold (I don't think it got above 28 degrees while we were there) but it was actually colder in Canyon, so we were feeling pretty good! :)

When we arrived, we checked into our hotel and then headed straight for Times Square. On our way there we stumbled upon our first adventure. We saw these big lights and camera crews and realized we were on the set of some kind of filming. We asked one of the crew members and he said that they were shooting a scene from the new CBS show "The Good Wife" with Juliana Marguiles. We didn't actually get to see any of the famous actors from the show, but we did see some guys dressed like Chicago Police Officers storm into a building!

Somehow on Friday morning, I convinced my mom to get up at 6:00 a.m. to run down to Good Morning America (did I mention that it was 20 degrees and snowing too?) so we could be on the set. There weren't many people crazy enough to do this, so we were able to get inside and see the taping of the whole show. We saw Emeril, George Stephanopoulos, Robin Roberts and Juju Chan. It was a lot of fun!

Then we went to Grand Central Station where we grabbed some lunch and headed to the Upper East Side to go to see the Frick Collection. This is an art museum which belonged to a really rich guy from the early 1900s named Henry Clay Frick. He built this incredible house on 5th Avenue across from Central Park and filled it with amazing works of art. We saw painting by Vermeer, Renoir, Degas, Manet, Monet and Gilbert Stuart, to name a few. Needless to say, it was pretty awesome.

The rest of the afternoon we spent walking around Central Park and 5th Avenue, which was neat to see in the snow. Some stores still had their Christmas lights up and it was really beautiful.

Ice skaters in Central Park

More Central Park

Christmas Lights on 5th Avenue

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Rockefeller Center

As I write this blog, I am listening to the soundtrack from the Broadway musical, Lion King, which we were able to see that night and it was truly FANTASTIC! I've heard people say it is like nothing you have ever seen and I have to agree! I had chills from beginning to the end!

This pretty well sums up Friday. I will try to blog again tomorrow about all of our adventures on Saturday. It involves more celebrities, so you won't want to miss out!

Immersed in the River Jordan

2010-01-05T07:33:00.001-08:00

What do you think of when you picture a baptism? I have always pictured my Dad and a baptistery (basically an over sized bathtub). The reason being, almost every baptism I have witnessed in my life has looked like that.

On Sunday, I went to a new service at FBC Canyon called "Celebration." During my Dad's message, he was talking about baptism (aka immersion), specifically as described in the first chapter of Mark. Dad began explaining about the symbolism of baptism. He described the process as going under water and being surrounded and immersed in the water and then coming up with a new mindset - a complete change of mind, heart and soul.

John the Baptist (our great predecessor and namesake for the Baptists) was baptizing believers in the Jordan River and in Mark 1:8, he says, "I baptize you with water, but he (Jesus) will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." Dad asked us to picture our baptism with the Holy Spirit the same way we pictured our literal baptism in water. The Holy spirit completely surrounding and engulfing us. This image became so much more to me when I thought about it in relation to the River Jordan - a vast body of water spanning as far as the eye can see. When Jesus baptizes us, we are completely surrounded by the Holy Spirit - everywhere you look and feel, the Holy Spirit is there. Isn't that such a beautiful picture?

Bachelor Predictions

2010-01-05T05:32:00.000-08:00

Let me start off by saying, please don't judge me! I watched the premiere of my guilty pleasure The Bachelor last night and I wanted to make my predictions right now, so that when I am right at the finale, I can have proof. First, I must say that Jake was my favorite guy from the very beginning of the Bachelorette last summer and I'm so glad he's on the show now. He seems so genuine and honest. He truly is a good ole southern boy! I really hope that he stays true to himself and his morals throughout the process. I also want to state for the record that I think all of the pilot references are way over the top! I think every girl on the show last night mentioned at least once that they want to by Jake's co-pilot - give me a break!

It feels like the caliber of girls was just not as high as it has been in the past. Maybe after 14 seasons they are just running out of sane, quality girls that are willing to be put through this crazy process.

My predictions are that Jake will either choose Ali or Tenley. They seem like the only "real" people on the show. We'll see how it all ends up. At least I know one thing is for sure - there will be plenty of drama. :)

Party all the time

2010-01-02T14:54:00.000-08:00

Over the past week we have been quite the party animals. In addition to celebrating Christmas and New Years, we also celebrated Lorin's 23rd birthday, Jamie's 19th birthday and Madie's 16th birthday. Jamie and Madie's birthday's actually aren't for a few more weeks, but we wanted to celebrate while we were all together, so we did. Lots of cake was eaten, presents were opened and fun was had.

Lorin's Bday Lunch at Johnny Carinos

Cristal and Lor on her birthdayMadie and Jamie's birthday party

White Christmas

2009-12-30T07:32:00.000-08:00

I didn't have to dream about a white Christmas, because we had one this year! It was so beautiful and made me miss Wisconsin! I had such a wonderful Christmas celebrating with my family and am thankful for the long vacation from work - I don't have to go back until Sunday! Here are some pictures from the last week so you can see all the fun that has been had by the Lowrie family.

SNOW! We actually played football in the snow on Christmas Day, it was so much fun!

Me and Jamie, I didn't realize the camera was on zoom, but it's still fun!

Sisters at the Christmas Eve service
The Newlyweds by the roaring fireMom and her new Emeril saucepan, she was WAY excited!

On Christmas day we went to my grandparent's house in Lubbock. There are so many of us that my cousin Rachel had to sleep in the bathtub, haha. Our newest addition to the Lowrie family, Ben Brooks (he's my cousin Sarah's baby boy and he is adorable, as you can see!)
Sisters and our grandmother - she has been researching our family history and gave us cookbooks with old family recipes. We have a very rich heritage!

Perfect Day

2009-12-23T20:34:00.000-08:00

It's official - my dad is over the hill! Yesterday he turned 50 years old and so to celebrate, my family and I planned his "perfect day." The whole day involved all of us getting together to do his favorite things.

1. Run with the fam - Dad loves to run, so we all joined him for his "cool down" around the block. We were quite the site!

2. Golf - Mom gave Dad a year membership at the Canyon Country Club, so we all went and played a scramble round together.

The Jean Team

The Girls in Black (and Mom)

3. Steak and Potatoes - for dinner we made a delicious dinner including red velvet cake!

4. Presents - We gave Dad a new leather briefcase for all his traveling. He liked it! :)

5. Movie - we ended the day with Dad's choice of a movie. He picked Top Gun, which I think was a good choice! All in all it was a wonderful day! I am so thankful for my daddy and I hope he is blessed with another 50 years!

NYC: Merry Christmas to me!

2009-12-15T19:54:00.000-08:00

I just got my first Christmas present! My mom booked plane tickets for us to go to NYC the first weekend in January and I'm so excited! I love the city that never sleeps and will jump at any opportunity to go there! I get to pick the musical I want to see, so I'm thinking "The Lion King." I have wanted to see it for a really long time and have heard wonderful reviews, so I figure I better see it while I have the chance! Mom wants us to go see a play by Arthur Miller starring Scarlett Johansen and Liev Schreiber. Sounds good to me! I love famous people! :) We'll be taking a tour of the New York Times, per my mom's request. I'm not sure what else is on our agenda yet - maybe Ellis Island or the Statue of Liberty (I've never been to either!), there's no telling - which is really exciting. In case you can't tell, I'm thrilled! Yay for traveling! Yay for New York! Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Lessons and Carols

2009-12-12T19:22:00.000-08:00

This evening I had the pleasure of being part of a beautiful Christmas service at St. John's Episcopal Church in Brownwood. It was called "Lessons and Carols," and it was modeled after The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols which was first held at King's College, Cambridge, on Christmas Eve in 1918.

Tonight, HPU's Heritage Singers performed the same service and it was amazing! I have heard them perform several times, and in my opinion this was their best! The songs they sang were so beautiful, presenting a great representation of the birth of Jesus. During the service, faculty and staff members read nine lessons, chronicling the Christmas story from Adam to Jesus. I was asked to read the Fifth Lesson about the angel Gabriel coming to Mary.

It is not often that I attend more traditional services like this one, but I always enjoy it! There is beauty in the "thees and thous!" It was such a joy be a part of this beautiful night and I will definitely plan on attending this service next year! What a wonderful way to start preparing my heart for the celebration of Christmas this year!!

Twas the Night Before Finals

2009-12-10T19:26:00.000-08:00

My Dad was the guest speaker in chapel at HPU yesterday. The last time he spoke, I was a sophomore in college. It was great to have him back again and of course, in my unbiased opinion, I think he was wonderful! My mom got to come too, so it was a special treat!

I warned Dad that he wasn't allowed to embarass me like he did last time. (I think he used every embarassing story he had on me from college to share with all of my classmates, causing quite a red face!) So instead, he focused his jokes more on his longtime friend, Dr. Gary Gramling -one of my favorite professors at HPU! I'm going to "re-blog" what my Dad wrote today, so that you can read his great parody on "The Night before Christmas."

From Dad's blog: Love and Lead

Brownwood: This week I had the opportunity to speak in chapel at Howard Payne University in Brownwood. My daughter Kalie is the Media Director for the university and I have the honor of being on the board of trustees. At this last chapel of the year before finals, historically Dr. Newbury has been the key note speaker. Unfortunately he was not able to be there, so I had the honor of stepping into his big shoes. Dr. Newbury has a way of making you laugh and teaching you at the same time, so I attempted to follow in his steps. Below is my attempt a college humor. This poem is like most sermons, it is some of mine and some of others I uncovered on the internet. I want to give credit to fellow bloggers Andrew Hund, Comedy Bytes, and a young coed named Shannon.

Twas the night before finals
When all through the college
All the students were praying
For last minute knowledge

Note: there is no use in praying for divine intervention
If in class you paid no attention!

Most freshmen were quite sleepy,
But none went to bed
Because of the nightmares of finals
Dancing in their heads

There was a study party at Skillets for the Greeks
And a study group with Tristan Summers for the Geeks
The sophomores were in their dorm rooms studying like mad
While the juniors came up with creative excuses for mom and dad

Meanwhile the seniors were out on the town
They knew better than to let a little exam get them down
Besides armed with coffee and twelve hour energy drinks
All things were possible with graduation on the brink

At last it was “dead” day
So what can I say
My future depends on the grades I make
Please Buzzsaw, oh I mean, Dr. Ellis pass the pancakes

At the last minute I stared blankly at my notes
My thoughts were quite blurry and confused
My only memory from Dr. Gramling were his lame jokes
And neither then nor now was I amused

I had nearly given up when to my surprise
I began to hear strange noises outside
When my door flung open wide
And the Patron Saint of Procrastination ambled inside

(Speaking of poor jokes let me take a test: What would you call our nation if everyone drove a red car! —A Red Car Nation. Please note it rhymes with procrastination!)

His spirit was careless
His manner quite mellow
When all of a sudden he started to bellow
“On Cliff notes, On Crib notes! On Last year’s exams.
On wingit, and slingit, and last minute crams!”

His message delivered, he vanished from sight
But I heard him laughing outside in the night.
“Your professors are out to get you, so just do your best.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all good luck on the test!

Patience, waiting and enjoying the delays

2009-12-06T14:25:00.000-08:00

For the past few days the Lord has been constantly reminding me about patience. I have always struggled with being patient and waiting for things to happen - birthday parties, giving presents, graduation - I could hardly wait! I have said before that if I could just KNOW that what I was waiting on was eventually going to happen, it would make the waiting so much easier. You know, if God gave me a flashing sign that said "Kalie, here it is, just wait a little bit and you will get it!" Wouldn't that be great?

Well, it seems like everywhere I turn lately, God has been reminding me about the importance of being patient and waiting on Him. I know that He has great things in store for me - things beyond my comprehension. But for now, I just need to wait. The good news about waiting on the Lord, is that there is joy in the waiting. Just because He hasn't revealed all of His plans to me, doesn't mean that there aren't good things happening right now!

So, I'm going to keep waiting for God's plan to be revealed, and I'm going to try to find joy in the waiting.

Psalm 27:14 "Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."

Holiday Mail for Heroes

2009-12-01T18:27:00.001-08:00

As you address Christmas cards to friends and family this year, I would like to encourage you to write a few to our U.S. soliders. I started doing this last year, and I hope to continue it as a tradition from now on. It's such a small way to express my thanks to our service men and women who sacrifice so much to protect our freedoms. They display so much bravery and courage everyday and I am truly grateful.

The Red Cross has a program called "Holiday Mail for Heroes" and you can send up to 15 Christmas cards that they will pass onto soliders. Cards need to be postmarked by next Monday, December 7 - that gives you 6 days to spread the joy and hope of Jesus Christ to our soliders this Christmas.

You can mail them to:
Holiday Mail for Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456

A place to take refuge

2009-11-22T17:16:00.000-08:00

This weekend I was a sponsor on a BSM trip to Fort Worth. Shane and Katy Blackshear and I took 11 students to work with refugees through a non-profit organization called Catholic Charities. Over the past few months I had been praying about mission opportunities that the Lord might have me be involved in, and I was so excited when Katy asked me to join this trip - it was definitely an eye-opener!

Amazingly, I only had to travel 2 hours away from my home to meet people from Burma, Bhutan and Kenya. Honestly, while I have heard of all of these countries and could probably locate Kenya on a map, I definitely had no idea about where Burma or Bhutan were located or anything about the struggle of the people there and why they would be refugees.

The families we encountered have come to America for refuge and safety. They fled their homes for many reasons and some have lived in refugee camps for ten years or more. Many that we met spoke very broken English, so I didn't hear all of these stories, but I know that they are survivors! Each family was so welcoming and kind. Several invited us into their homes and gave us the only chairs that they had in their apartments to sit on, while they took the floor. We were collecting "Christmas Wish List" information for their children, so we asked them each what they would they might like. It was so humbling when they would simply ask for a jacket to keep warm or pencils for school. None of them asked for an X-box 360 or Wii, the latest Hannah Montana cd or an ipod. Their faces lit up when we suggested a gift like a soccerball or baby doll.

It really made me aware of how much I have and how I take it for granted. There are so many in need around the world, people who don't know when they will be able to eat again or if they will have a roof over their head tonight. I am so thankful that I do not have these worries, and I hope that this holiday season I can find opportunities to share with those less fortunate.

I was also struck this weekend by the fact that we live in a country where people can feel safe enough to come here for refuge. It is wonderful to know that our government is helping those who cannot help themselves. But, at the same time, it is important to remember that God is our ultimate refuge! As the psalmist said in Psalm 46:1, "God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble." It is my prayer that as these refugee settle into their new homes and new lives that they will meet Jesus Christ. That they will find the ultimate hope that comes from a relationship with him and experience hope and peace like they've never known.

This morning we had the opportunity to worship with several Bhutanese people at the Altamesa Christ of Christ. This church has been a wonderful example of God's love to these hurting people. We talked with some of the church members that work with the Bhutanese ministry and they shared that through meeting the immediate physical needs of the refugees, they were able to meet their spiritual needs. The chuch was not looking to start a Bhutanese ministry, but God lead the people to their door, and so they embraced them and started finding ways to minister to them. I pray that I would be an ever-ready servant like that!

Second box of candles and the BGCT

2009-11-18T16:31:00.001-08:00

Did you know that birthday candles only come in boxes of 24? I learned that the hard way when Lorin had to buy two boxes of candles for my birthday cake on Friday. haha, it's so funny getting older! I had such a wonderful birthday! I drove down to Galveston and took Lorin's guided tour of the Moody mansion, then Lor, Phil and I drove into Houston to meet Mom, Dad, Jamie and Madison at Outback Steakhouse to celebrate! I don't think I could have asked for a better present than to have all of my family together! (I did get a GPS, Sleeping Beauty, the new Carrie Underwood CD and a beautiful mirror as well!)

The rest of the weekend we spent together (in the executive suite at the Hilton - which was definitely a sweet suite!) at the Baptist General Convention of Texas Annual Meeting. Since Dad is president, he presided over the entire meeting and did such a wonderful job! People kept telling me how much they appreciated his leadership, his kind and gentle spirit and the way that he has brought about so much peace to the convention over the past year. The Lord has truly gifted Dad is so many ways and I was beaming with pride for him these past few days. Dad was re-elected to serve as president for another year through a vote of acclimation. It served as a great affirmation to his great leadership this past year. Here's a story about it!

It was also a mini family reunion - my grandparents were there along with my uncles John and Steve, aunt Debbie, and to our great surprise, my great aunt Debbie and uncle David! Monday night was really special because my mom sang in the praise team, my sisters and I read scripture on stage right before Dad preached a sermon on compassion, and then my Papa closed the session in prayer. Three generations of Lowrie's were present, representing a wonderful heritage of faith.

In addition to being the first daughter of the convention, I also had several other jobs. I worked at the HPU booth, helped with our alumni dinner (where my college roommate Meredith got to come and lead the prayer!) and wrote an article for about one of the general sessions. You can read it if you click here. It was a great convention and such a blessing to be a part of! So far, being 25 has been pretty wonderful! I look forward to all adventures to come!

All grown up

2009-11-18T16:22:00.000-08:00

A couple of weekends ago, Jamie and I went home to Canyon to see little Madie in her high school musical The Music Man. While we were watching her, Jamie and I both looked at each other and realized that our baby sister was all grown up! She looked so beautiful and was a wonderful dancer and chorus girl! Here's a few pics from her standing ovation producing performance!

H-town

2009-11-18T15:00:00.000-08:00

While my family and I were in Houston for the BGCT annual meeting, we took part in several VERY different cultural events!

On Saturday night, my sisters and I went to the sold out Chris Brown concert at the House of Blues. It was quite an experience! I don't think I would've gone with anyone else, and we were definitely out of our element, but we had a lot of fun. While we do not agree with his personal choices in life, Chris is really a great dancer, singer and overall entertainer. We had alot of fun!

On Sunday night, Lorin, Phil and I went with my mom to see the auther A. J. Jacobs speak at the Jewish Community Center. Jacobs is the author of several books including Know it All and The Year of Living Biblically. He has just written a new book, which he was promoting. I haven't read any of his books, but I think that they are probably really funny. I did buy the biblical book to read, and of course get autographed. That book is the most intriguing to me because he is a Jew that decided to live an entire year of life following every law and rule he could find in the Bible. He said that it was a really life changing year and he implemented several things into his life afterwards, but sadly, he missed the point of the Bible. He was so wrapped up in the legalism that he missed out on the Savior! He missed the reason for following God's laws - love that pours out of our lives after we have accepted Jesus in our hearts and received redemption from sin. I'm looking forward to reading the book, and it was neat to hear him speak, nonetheless.

Then on Sunday night, we were able to see Robbie Seay perform a concert at the convention. I really loved his voice and he has a great new song called "Miracle" that I'm going to buy on iTunes! It was definitely a change from the other two nights, but I really enjoyed it!!!

25

2009-11-11T16:42:00.000-08:00

This Friday I will be turning 25 years old. It is so hard to believe that I'm that old already! For some reason I have been dwelling on this birthday for a long time, or should I say dreading it? ha ha. Growing up, I think that I always imagined 25 as this magical age where everything that I had dreamed about would become a reality. My mom was married and had me by the time she was 25, so logically, I would be married and already be a mom as well. But, you know, life doesn't always (OK it rarely ever) turns out the way you imagine, and I'm finding that it's really okay, and actually better that way. God has plans for my life that I would never have thought of, and His plans are SO much better than mine! While I may not be married yet or have any kids, I do have so much to be thankful for! And so, in honor of my 25th birthday, I decided I would share 25 things that I am thankful for.

1. My Savior Jesus Christ - he gave his life for me and he loves me more than I deserve or can comprehend. I would be nothing without him!
2. Dad - an amazing father and incredible man of God! I am so honored to call him my dad! He has taught me so much and I am so proud of all that he has done!
3. Mom - my mom has invested so much into my life. I am so amazed how resilient she is and how amazing she is! Her thirst for knowledge is unquenchable and I am always learning something new from her! She is so much fun to be around and I know that she prays for me every single day!
4. Lorin - my sister, my friend! Lorin knows me better than anyone! She is such a blessing in my life and I am so proud of the woman that she has become! She has such a tender, compassionate heart and loves with everything inside of her!
5. Jamie - also my sister and my friend! She is so much fun to be around and has so much to add to my life! I love hanging out with her and am so proud of the woman she is becoming!
6. Madison - my baby sister that is all grown up! Sometimes I think she is so much like me, and other times we are so different. I love her so much and can't wait to see all that she will do!
7. Phillip - my brother-in-law. He loves my sister so much and it has been so wonderful to add him to our family! He is truly the man God designed for Lorin and I am blessed to know him!
8. HPU - I don't think I can put into words how much this school has changed my life! I never dreamed I would've gone to college at this small Baptist school in central Texas, but God sure had other plans in mind. The people at HPU have forever made an impact on my life!
9. My job - I never knew I would be working as an "alumni and media relations assistant," but I am able to use the talents God has given me to share the good news about a school that I love. I am especially thankful for a job in our economy right now! Praise God for a secure paycheck!
10. The Herd - you know who you are! I was starving for friendship when I met each of you amazing girls and you are so much more amazing than I could have imagined! I know that you will always be part of my life and I can't wait for our reunion in January! Bran, Jess, Cass, Mere, Becca, Kate, Steph, April, Katie, Maria, Hannah, Sarah - I love you all!
11. Wauwatosa, Wisconsin - really, the people in this suburb! Again, I never dreamed that the Lowrie pilgrimage way up north would change my life, but it sure did. I learned so much during my time living there and I will forever treasure my memories! Katie, Erie, Jen McT, Jenny P, Erin, Courtney, Sarah, Erin- you bless my life!
12. Shelley and Amanda - we have been friends since we were 3 years old! We were all baptized on the same day, and I was blessed to stand up in both of your weddings. You will always be part of my life!
13. Family - I have come from such a rich heritage and I am so thankful for each of my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. I was thinking about my Papa Crane today - on Veteran's Day. He served in the Navy during WWII and I am so proud of his service! I really miss him so much!
14. Travel - God has blessed me with the ability to travel around the world, and I am so thankful for each of the opportunities! I love travelling so much and can't wait for my next adventure.
15. Books - I absolutely LOVE to read and I am so thankful for books! I just don't know what I would do without them.
16. Great co-workers - God has blessed me with great co-workers and student workers that are wonderful to work with! I never dread going to work in the morning, because I get to see great people everyday!
17. America - I know, of course I would say this as a political science nerd - but truthfully I am very thankful for this country I live in.
18. Surprise friendships - (Danielle and Candice) God has provided me with surprise friendships exactly when I needed them!
19. Education - I am so thankful for the education that I have received! I wouldn't be where I am without it!
20. My apartment - this has been such a wonderful arrangement since I graduated! It is so close to everything and living here rent free has been incredible! Thank you God for my little home!
21. The Mitchell Family - Jeff, Kristy and Tyler - I am thankful for the blessing they are in my life! They are great friends that I know I can always rely on! I don't know what I would do without them in Brownwood!
22. Facebook - haha, I know it's kind of a frivilous thing to be thankful for, but I really am grateful for it because I am able to stay connected with so many people in my life!
23. My good old cellphone - another great communication tool that allows me to stay connected with everyone I love while they are spread out all over the place!
24. Musical nights - with Lorin, Cristal and Brittany! Definitely a wonderful addition to my life. I love you girls and am so thankful for you!
25. Twenty-five wonderful years of life - for the good times, the bad times and the inbetween. God has remained constant everyday and I am so extremely blessed! Thank you, sweet Jesus for all of these blessings!!!

What difference do it make? by Ron Hall, Denver Moore and Lynn Vincent

2009-11-09T17:40:00.000-08:00

Ron Hall and Denver Moore join together for a sequel to their New York Times bestseller Same Kind of Different as Me. A wonderful continuation of a truly life-changing story, this book shares more stories of the unlikely friendship between a millionaire art dealer (Hall) and an illiterate homeless man (Moore). Throughout the book are stories about people who read the first book and were inspired in different ways. What difference do it make? also provides the reader with motivational thoughts on how to make a difference in the world around you.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to others! I think it is important to read Same Kind of Different as Me first, so that you understand the history and background. This is like a "bonus features" section, providing more detail on many stories that had already been shared. I absolutely loved the small stories from readers - sharing how the book had impacted them and inspired them to make a difference. It was definitely very convicting, making me aware of my own prejudices and uninformed views of homelessness.

This is my first book review for Thomas Nelson, and I am looking forward to my next book!

More pictures from DC

2009-11-08T17:03:00.001-08:00

Here are a few more pictures from my trip to DC last week. I had such a great time! One of the highlights was actually seeing A Streetcar Named Desire at the Kennedy Center Starring Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett! She was awesome and it was so neat to see her perform live. It was definitely worth the $25 and standing for 3 hours straight (it was sold out and the only tickets they had available were standing room only!). Other highlights included my first trip to Mount Vernon - which was beautiful! - and a visit to the top of the Washington Monument to see DC from up above.

Living My Dreams

2009-10-30T14:30:00.000-07:00

My life lately has been very busy, but I've been having a lot of fun! Last weekend was Homecoming - my fourth that I have planned, which is crazy! Our theme this year was "Living Your Dreams" and it was such a good weekend. I think it was probably the best that I've planned yet. Everything went really smoothly and it was great! It was fun to see old, and new friends and reminisce about my time at HPU. Sometimes its easy to forget about actually being a student here, since I've worked at the school all this time.

Now, I'm sitting in a hotel room in Washington, D.C. (my favorite US city!) on a trip with students from the Model UN team at HPU. We left Austin yesterday morning at 7:00 a.m. and have already had a full schedule of events! I took some of the students around the National Mall last night, which I can just NEVER get enough of! My American pride is just always bursting at the seems as soon as the Washington Monument comes into view. We went to the Smithsonian for a bit before it closed, then walked to the White House and saw the monuments at night. It was really beautiful! This is amazingly my fifth time in DC (my 2nd this year!) but my 1st time to see the city in the fall and it is so beautiful! I love all of the trees changing colors - we don't get as much of that in Texas!

Today we got a tour of the Capitol building, which was really great. An intern from Congressman Mike Conaway's office did a great job (I must admit, it was a lot more thorough than the tours I gave as an intern for Sen. Hutchison several years ago, haha) spending over 2 hours with us and taking us all over the building. It's always fun to go there and I think the students enjoyed it too. Tonight they started their conference so I am going to the Kennedy Center to see City Dance Ensemble: Latitude. I'm not sure what to expect, but I love dancing, so I'm sure it will be great!