lettersandlore – The Great Kaysby

What’s In a Name?

What brands do you associate with?

If you would have asked me this question as a teenager, I probably would have made a comment about how brands don’t matter. Now as an adult, there are a lot of areas where I would still agree with this. However, as I have become more knowledgeable about issues that matter to me, my stance on brands has changed a bit. I will openly share with people who ask about brands/companies that I no longer support because of their social responsibility, environmental issues, etc. I also share that I fully realize that the companies do not feel a dent in their profits from my choice to not use them, but I feel that my peaceful protest (channeling Thoreau, Ghandi, and King) provides me with a clean heart. Is it a perfect plan? No. Especially given a world where it is hard to truly know what a brand stands for as available information can have inconsistencies. I also do my best to not judge those who are willing to spend their dollars with brands that I do not utilize.

So what do I utilize? I like Letters & Lore! letterslore.com I’ve worked with them on a few publications. I also love #mymklife and the brand that I am creating with thegreatkaysby on Instagram. For our homeschooling (though our values do not 100% align), I love Sonlight and Abeka. In this case, I use what doesn’t align with our beliefs as a learning opportunity. For craft/art supplies, I go to Michael’s. Whenever possible I prefer to support local brands/businesses.

What is your brand stance?

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

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

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

What Do You Do?

Whenever I am at a networking event, the question that is always asked is simple: “What do you do?” My first thought when I hear the question is usually some lyrics from the 2001 song by City High called “What Would You Do?” If you grew up in the 90s/00s you know the lyrics – “Boys and girls, wanna hear a true story? Saturday night was at this real wild party” – and iconic voice of Ryan Toby! After that quick thought, I usually give my quick answer, but then as my day continues, I tend to get really contemplative about the question: “What do you do?”

Sometimes I giggle and think the answer to “What do you do?” is clean a lot of poop and vomit. This answer is not glamourous and is not at all reflective of my entire day, but it’s what I tend to think after cleaning up after the Princess Cat with IBS and the Goofy Cat that gets way too many hairballs for being a short hair. Once I even laughed while doing this because I got to witness an ant literally eat shit and die. The reality is that cleaning up after animals is a very small portion of the day, but it does provide the grossest response and most comical considering there was a caricature made of me as a teenager scooping the litter box.

So what do I really do?

I suppose the best answer is a little bit of everything through a variety of channels!

Be the Queen of Our Castle – includes homeschooling, household activities, travel planning, and more! See my previous post: https://thegreatkaysby.com/2024/05/30/help-wanted-stay-at-home-parent/
Bring people joy and hope by offering skincare and glamour consultations and instruction (joy) and fundraising for community events (hope) through my MK business.
Publish! Being a published writer was one of my DREAMS for as long as I can remember. I started writing short stories in elementary school, and it has always been a sometime hobby of mine. Never in a million years would I have believed that the dream of seeing my work in print could become a reality. Then along came a super supportive husband – Mr Kisby – and the self publishing tool called Amazon KDP. Since August 2023, we’ve published 42 titles (some are lined notebooks). Even if we never make a dime, the creative process has been super fun and rewarding!!! thegreatkaysby.com/letters-lore
Teach/tutor others! Just because I left teaching doesn’t mean the desire to teach left me. I use my love of teaching to first and foremost homeschool LilKsby, but I also use it to tutor others online. I absolutely love helping people prep for the ACT, become better writers, and assist with College Application Essays! To me teaching skin care and glamour is even a form of using my joy of teaching. I will always find fulfillment in teaching others!
Volunteer and help those who need a voice to have one! I used to do this a lot more, but I realized that my over extending myself to help others was taking a toll on my home life. It can be very easy to neglect those you love – including yourself – when you put all of your energy into helping others. However, I have found that what you fill your cup first, you can give a lot more! You might even find creative ways to do so! One of my favorite organizations? Camp TESSA!
Listen to music from the 90s and 00s! There is no mood lifter for me greater than jamming out to boy bands and bubble gum pop. Currently listening to BSB and *NSYNC on loop! There is also something about listening to music live that is good for the soul. I cannot pinpoint exactly what it is, but when you can feel the rhythm coursing through your veins, it is life changing!
Re-watch shows/movies I’ve seen a million times! This one is because it is a comfort. Hearing familiar jokes, crying familiar tears over endings even when you know they’re coming, seeing your favorite faces who feel like your friends is comforting. Obviously, I know that Niles Crane isn’t real, but there’s something about the comedic portrayal by David Hyde Pierce that always makes me think that I know this guy, and I’m laughing with him and not at him!
Read! I believe that being an avid reader is a gift. Reading books opens up the doors to so many great things! You can immerse yourself in fantasy worlds, experience emotions that you never would have encountered, learn new skills, and make travel plans all from reading books. Libraries are one of the greatest assets that we have in the world!
Artsy Stuff! Typically I hate to use the word stuff; however, I don’t really know a better word to sum up all of the artsy things that I do. Sew? Check. Scrapbook? Check. Paint? Check. Draw/doodle? Check. Find creative ways to repurpose things? Check. I like to think of myself as Glue Gun Guru!
Be outside! Now, I don’t do this one as much as I should because I sweat and am chunky. However, there is something invigorating about hiking, gardening, kayaking, swimming, etc. It gets me in a great mental space! Even just walking outside for a few minutes at night to look at the starts is game changing.
Planning! I love to plan things! This is why at different times in my life I’ve thought that it would be cool to be an Event Planner or Travel Agent. (Especially this one if it means discounted travel. Remember this started as a food and travel blog!)

The reality is that I do a lot of different things even though sometimes I’m sure it appears that I just post on social media all day (usually it’s a clue that someone is sick, I’m on a long car ride and not driving, or doing an idle activity like watching TV because try as I might, I cannot only do one thing at a time typically).

I want to know, what do you do?

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby