Tonight was beautiful. Tonight I got to have a wonderful time with some awesome friends, and spend some much needed talking time with my wonderful friend Mandy.

Sitting under the stars sipping our iced coffees with a hint of soy milk, watching in annoyance the mosquitoes that were flying around our heads, just talking...it was really a breath of fresh air. It just got me thinking, how wonderful is it to be able to share thoughts, confusions, pains, fears with someone and understand and feel each other in such similar ways. I think that God really did create relationships to be like that, to be able to aid each other in figuring out these things that just trip us and knock us down. We are never alone in our troubles.

I say this because I realized tonight that I really need to start following my heart. Like for instance, I have decided that no matter the cost, no matter if I end up a simple art teacher, I am going to choose the "risky" road and be a fine art major.

I recently found a volunteer opportunity at the children's hospital in Little Rock, and they need volunteers for something called the art cart. It is where they have someone go around and do arts and crafts off of this cart with all the patients in the hospital. Oh my goodness what a perfect opportunity that would be! So hopefully this will work out and I will be able to do this for a while. I think it might be a solution to my future...this might just be what I want to devote my life to, simply doing art with people and helping them cope. :)

How awesome is it that God can take the passions that he has placed in our hearts, and direct them toward helping others and furthering his kingdom. In ALL things we can glorify him no matter if it is hair dressing, or cooking, no matter what he can use it and I am beginning to really learn that. :)

Thanks for reading.

Love KB

Oh me and my...life decisions.

Lately I have been feeling like my life has been changing. Of course my life has always been changing, and everything in life is in constant motion. But this change is something that I am so unsure of...not unsure as it not welcoming, but maybe confusion is closer to the word I am looking for.

I thought that I had my life all planned out. I thought I knew every piece to this puzzle and it was so easy to say, I am this major and I will be doing this in 10 years. Right now I am completely lost. I used to at least have a compass pointing me in a general direction but no, no compass no map no nothing. Yikes! I am so confused and upside down about so many things, and God has been sending me these differn't thoughts, differn't ways that my life could be lived and I have no idea where my place should be.

I want to be a missionary, but is it in the states or in Africa. I am an artist, do I devote my craft to graphic design or to art therapy, or am I to take a "risky" road and be simply a fine art major. I don't know because see when I look down the road and vision my self in 10 years I see Jesus. I see him helping people...and I see him using my art to do that. I can not see Graphic Design anywhere in that. But do I take the career field that will make me enough money to be able to support myself, or do I trust him. DO I defy everyone around me, including my family, telling me I should be "smart" and make my education count. Make money! Because that is the important thing in life! And no they dont say that...but I feel like that is what I am saying when I chose graphic design. I dont' know. I am soo confused. All I know is he is my future. He is alive. His church should be alive...and that brings up another frustrating confusion that I can't even begin to explain right now.

I know I have a lot of thinking and following and praying and trusting and be movable...plyable....because I guess that is his plan to be able to mold me and direct me. I thank him and praise him that I am not alone in this...it's such a comfort to know he leads me. Pray for me if you read this. Thank you. :)

Love KB

DID YOU KNOW???

That companies such as Disney, Nike, Gap, Old Navy, Coca Cola, Pepsi co/Frito Lay, Walmart, Adidas,
Kohl's, and many many many more have all been proven to use or have used illegal sweatshop labor, and
or unruly treatment of their workers in factories?

According to research that I found, sweatshop workers earn as little as 1/2 to 1/4 what they need to provide
for their families, basic nutrition, shelter, clothing, education, transportation etc.

Sweatshop workers are
forced to spend about 75% of their wages alone to meet basic nutritional needs.

Almost 75% of a garment is pure profit
for the manufacturer.

For less than 1% of Nike's advertising budget, wages could be doubled for all workers making Nike university clothing.

Common sweatshops include, tires, auto parts, shoes, toys, computer parts, electronics, clothing, and food.

The U.S. government often gives foreign aid to those same countries whose poverty is directly effected by exploitation
by US businesses operating abroad.

According to the Department of Labor, over 50% of U.S. garment factories use sweatshops.

This is just disgusting, and not acceptable. I really have no idea what I can do at this point, except for
obviously ending my support for these products immediately. But here is a site that will give you a ton
of info on the companies that are leading this problem, along with a lot of research sources that
back up their info.

http://www.greenamericatoday.org/programs/responsibleshopper/learn_hub.cfm

WHEN we have NEW EYES
we can LOOK into the Eyes of those
we dont even like,
and SEE the ONE WE LOVE.

WE CAN SEE GOD'S IMAGE in EVERYONE
we encounter.

IN the F A C E of the OPPRESSED
I SEE MY OWN FACE.

I N THE H A N DD S of the OPPRESSOR,
I SSEE MY O W N HANDS
their flesh is my blood
their pain is my pain
THEIR SMILE IS MY SMILE.

WE ARE OF THE SAME DUST

WE CRY THE SAME TEARS

NO ONE IS BEYOND REDEMPTION!

AND WE ARE FREE TO IMAGINE A REVOLUTION THAT SETS BOTH
THE OPPRESSED FREE AND THE OPPRESSORS FREE. <3

Let them blow away

Sometimes I feel so lost in transition,
like this whole world is spinning on it's Axel,
upside and inside out,
but my head is turning another direction,
and I find that we have yet to cross that line
between radical and ordinary,
it seems we've found a quiet place to lie,
and she's been sleepin for a long time...far too long.

We have to have our covers blown, and the quiet little
shelters blown away
until our words are so jumbled from being contained so long
that they fly out of our mouths and join the dancing of our
brothers and sisters that are still holding on.

And I feel like there are gaping holes in our eyes,
we fail to see the dirt,
but we get lost in every shiny penny that falls at our feet.
OH cant we loosen our tongues
to sing this song...that can untie our heats and keep us
movin on.

And we have to have our covers blown,
and the quiet little shelters blown away,
until our words are so jumbled from being contained for so long
that they fly our of our mouths
and join the dancing of our brothers and sisters
who are still holding on.

Oh let it all blow away,
until we are all dancing and singing
this song of new meanings.
OH they are still holding on.