Tag: faith

And Then There Were Five…

A little over a year ago, I began collaborating with Letters & Lore – a small husband and wife owned publishing company – on a little project called Matthew & Me. The idea was to create a devotional over the Gospel of Matthew that looked at the scriptures from a different point of view. The desired POV was from that of a sinner, someone who has lapsed in faith, and someone who had a lot of questions about the Gospels that maybe…just maybe…they were afraid to ask anyone they knew. From there the project spawned four more publications: Making Your Mark, Life Lessons with Luke, A Second Act with Acts, and Journeying with John. It was never intended for there to be five different publications, but you know how it is when God opens a window…sometimes you just jump through it without knowing what might happen!

During the publishing process, one of my favorite parts was creating the covers. I didn’t realize it until the third publication, but I had unintentionally given each cover and the pictures inside a theme that matches one of the four elements. When I got to thinking about what each cover represented, I realized that these matches were no accident. They were divine intention for what each Gospel means to me. Let me break it down:

  • Matthew – Air – the predominant feature of the cover is the sky. Much like the air we breathe, the Gospel of Matthew is poetic with a story telling nature similar to life giving breath.
  • Mark – Nature – the predominant feature of this cover is a meadow with trees on the edge. Like many things in nature, the Gospel of Mark is simplistic in word, but said words provide strong roots for the foundation of faith in a way that anyone can find theirselves in them.
  • Luke – Water – the Gospel of Luke is expansive and flowy in its words. This Gospel tells the narrative in a calm and peaceful way much like the daily flow of tides in the sea. Since it is a direct companion, A Second Act with Acts utilizes this same theme.
  • John – Fire – the Gospel of John makes you run a marathon of emotions, and it doesn’t hold back any punches. With John you get a raw Gospel that isn’t flowery and serene. It is impactul and motivating and lights a fire from the Holy Spirit within you! The call to action is the strongest in this Gospel!

Going into the project, I thought that the Gospel of Matthew was my favorite. However, after this intense deep dive through all four, I have found that all of them have a different purpose for different seasons of my life while all reminding of the same basics of my faith. This journey has had a lasting impact on me, and I am thankful to Letters & Lore for the opportunity to have this collaboration. You can checkout the devotionals and all of their other publications here. Side note, as a mama, I’m proud that LilKsby has also helped them with a couple of publications! Five year olds are super fun!!!

Now that this journey is complete, I can’t see what is next for me!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Face Your Giants

I have always loved to sing. As a child, my parents could locate me out in public because they would hear me singing. I didn’t care who heard me. Moving into teenage and young adult years, I sang a lot of karaoke even one time on stage at Kings Island! But somewhere along the way, I began to believe that I couldn’t sing solo in front of people. I believe it began with auditions for musicals. There was always something terrifying to me about singing a song you barely knew in front of a bunch of other people. Over time the fear became a giant.

Fast forward to becoming a parent. One thing I have noticed is that our children will take on our fears if we aren’t careful. From this I decided that I didn’t want LilKsby to ever feel like he shouldn’t try something fun because it feels a little scary. So I decided that I need to sing a solo and face my giant.

Tonight I did just that! For the first time, I sang two solos as part of our church choir’s Easter Vigil numbers. When I volunteered, I thought the lights would be off when I sang, and that I would only have to go up on stage for one of them. Well, it turned out that the lights were on, and I had to go on stage twice. But guess what? Even with my heart racing, it was great!!! I could picture myself doing it again in the future. 🙂

So how did I face my giant? One, I spent time practicing outside of rehearsals. I practiced with my keyboard and videos. Two, I shared videos of my practicing with those who could provide constructive feedback. Three, I spent a lot of time visualizing how singing in front of everyone would look. Four, I prayed over it…a lot! Was it work? Yes. Was it worth it? YES!

What giant do you need to face?

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Life Lessons with Luke

Surprise! I’m working on another collaboration with Letters & Lore! As I work on putting together a third devotional for publication, I felt led to share some thoughts with you. Sit, back, relax, and join me for a trip inside my brain!

Luke 4:8 says: “Jesus answered, “It is written: Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.” How many people today are worshiping false idols? How many people are serving those with earthly power and their deeds instead of putting their faith in God? How many people are falling for sensationalized media instead of falling into the Word of God? How many people are struggling to worship and serve God because they feel helpless in the turbulance of this world?

Luke 5:8 says: “When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” Me too Peter, me too! I can’t speak for everyone, but I know that I am a sinner. For a period of my life, I did like Peter said he was going to do, and I went away from the Lord. However, as I got older and found my way back to Him after experiencing MUCH TRAGEDY, I realized that the Lord never left me even when I was at my most sinful. He was there in the background the whole time making sure that I would inevitably come out okay. I say this to give everyone hope. Even if you feel that you have lost the Lord in your life because you feel that you are unworthy of his forgiveness because your sins are too many and too grave, He will welcome you back. Don’t let your past interactions with or feelings of being judged by earthly people keep you from seeking a relationship with Jesus!

Luke 6:37-38 says: “Do not judge others, and God will not judge you; do not condemn others, and God will not condemn you; forgive others, and God will forgive you. Give to others, and God will give to you.” Read it again. Now read it again. One more time for good measure! Take a good look at your actions, words, social media posts, etc. Have you been judging people based on their religious beliefs, gender, political affiliations, sexuality, race, socioeconomic background, etc? What judgments have you made for which you need to pray for God’s forgiveness? How can you begin to live as Jesus instructed?

I share all of this with the intention of spreading hope. Am I the best at always going to church? No. Do I slip even though I believe in the Blessed Three? Yup! Do I think that you can have a relationship with God just by digging into His Word on your own and living in accordance with the teachings of Jesus? Yup! That’s why when this collaborative opportunity arose, I felt called to accept it.

Now to resume drafting the publication of Life Lessons with Luke! In the meantime, you can checkout Matthew & Me and Making Your Mark on letterslore.com.

Have an abundantly blessed week!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Top Tips for 2022

Since just before the new year began, I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting. I’ve been attempting in my spare moments to work on my vision journal, and I’ve realized that it’s meant to be a work in progress not a project completed in one sitting. That said, I’ve also come up with some other tips for 2022 that you might find helpful:

1. Minimize – clean out the clutter you don’t need or that no longer brings you joy. Trash it, put it in a yard sale, or donate it to a worthy charity thrift store. What you think of as junk might be a blessing to someone else.

2. Unplug – Find things to do that don’t require technology. Craft, create, read a book, exercise, get outside…do something besides stare at a screen. I’m preaching to myself on this one!

3. Take Baths – I’m not saying take a bath or shower for hygiene. Well, yes do that, but occasionally fill the bath, light a candle, add Epsom salts or bubble bath, and enjoy the water. It’s relaxing!

4. Renew Your Faith – if you’re a person of faith be it Pagan, Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, Hindu, or another faith take time to submerse yourself in your teachings. Take time to remind yourself of your basic philosophies and renew your soul. The soul yearns for growth and renewal to stay strong!

5. Physical Wellness – get a physical, visit the eye doctor, go to the dentist, see a chiropractor, etc. You have one body that could last you for over 100 years so take care of it!

6. Quality Time – Spend quality time with those you love the most. Do so in a pandemic safe manner of course! When you’re spending quality time, make sure you’re present in the moment. This is a big one that I’m working on this year! I miss so much by being absorbed in something irrelevant!

7. Stop Believing the Internet – Say this with me “Just because it’s on the Internet doesn’t make it true.” Make this your mantra. Repeat it frequently, and when you do conduct Internet research check your sources! For example, my background is in the beauty industry, so I hope you would never believe me if suddenly I was trying to dispense brain surgery or aeronautical device!

What’s your tip for 2022?

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Livin’ La Vida Country Song

I remember hearing a joke once that went like this:

“What do you get if you sing a country song backwards?”

“You get your dog back; you get your truck back; you get your wife back; you get your house back.”

I don’t know who made it up, but I remember thinking the joke was somewhat true as songs like “All My Exes Live In Texas” and “Big D and Don’t Mean Dallas” seem to exemplify the theme. They are way more prominent than the fun upbeat numbers like “The Cigar Song”, “Third Rock From the Sun”, and “5 O’Clock Somewhere”! By the way I do believe that it is always 5 in Margaritaville whether that be located at the restaurant of the same name, my favorite Mexican restaurant, or my kitchen!

Well, it turns out the joke is on me lately, or as I like to look at life, the proof that God does indeed have a sense of humor is on me lately.  In the past few weeks, the life of The Great Kaysby, Mr Kisby, and LilKsby (though he doesn’t know it, and hopefully he never will) has become rather like a country song, and not a good pop crossover one like Taylor Swift sings. What do I mean?

Evidence #1 – Mr Kisby is beginning a new chapter in his life aka being laid off.  Hooray for jobs being so well automated that people are no longer needed!

Evidence #2 – The air conditioning/heat downstairs is broken for the second time since May. Lucky us as two of us in the house are championship sweaters! Thankfully, Dove deodorant works like a champ!!!

Evidence #3 – Mr Kisby’s car has decided starting is overrated and is boycotting it until further notice.

Evidence #4 – The kittens in the house all need their annual shots, and every good country song involves an animal!

Evidence #5 – There really is no five, but I just like odd numbers better than even. Perhaps because I’m an odd duck!

So yeah, currently we’re livin’ la vida country song, but oddly enough I’m not freaking out which – by the way – totally seems to weird people out.  In fact, all of it has been met with an overwhelming since of calm that I can’t explain. Maybe it is because I have faith and a gut feeling that everything is going to be just fine.  Actually, it’ll be better than fine! I don’t know how. Maybe we will win the lottery; maybe Ellen Degeneres will read this and invite us on her show. Maybe Taylor Swift will adopt us; maybe our family dream is right around the corner.

Maybe…

I could really go on and on, but I don’t want to because I don’t want to garner sympathy. I believe that “our country song” is the start of something greater than what we ever imagined happening. I do believe that everything happens for a reason, and I believe that every cloud has a silver lining! Even as we face uncertainty, I hope I can leave those around me inspired. I’ve got a sleeping LilKsby on my chest, a snoozing Mr Kisby at my side, four fuzzy kitties, a loving family, a roof over my head, clothes on my back, and food for my tummy.  Country song life or not, I am blessed!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby