so glad they still make...

music videos.
it turns out mtv has a channel that airs hours of videos.
and, I happened upon it when I moved into my new place a month or so ago.  palladia.
this one made me smile this morning.

happy weekend.
cheers,
kb.

will I...

choose moments?

and allow life to unfold as it will?

a daily option.

yes, please.

cheers, 

kb.

people are people.

this song popped up on my songza yesterday as I sent email after email at work.  

it brightened my day.  perhaps it will do the same for you.

amos lee music is lovely.

happy weekend.  

hope you enjoy some soulful moments. 

may we be thankful for freedom, as we are all navigating this life together.

A thousand empty windows
And only half the lights are out
I wonder what these people's lives...
What they might be all about

Do they got a lover
And could they have a family
Could it be they're just as lonesome
As you and me

I wanna shout out
Shout out loud
Why don't you all
Just come on out
And we can
Tear it all down, yeah

White lights burning
Down an empty avenue
I wonder if their driver
Found someone he can go on home to

I wanna shout out
Shout out loud
Why don't you all
Just come on out
And we can
Tear it all down, yeah

Cause everybody's got a part in the game
And everybody's got a cross they can claim
And everybody's got somebody to blame
But we all must find our own way, yeah yeah

I wanna shout out
Shout out loud
I wanna shout out
Shout out loud
I wanna shout out
Shout out loud

Shout out loud, yeah, yeah
Shout out loud, yeah, yeah

Shout out loud
Shout out loud
Shout out loud

Well I walked over the bridge
Into the city where I live
And I saw my old landlord
Well we both said, "Hello"
There was no where else to go
'Cause his rent I couldn't afford

Well relationships change
Though I think it's kind of strange
How money makes a man grow
Ah, some people they claim
If you get enough fame
You live over the rainbow, over the rainbow

But the people on the street
Out on buses or on feet
We all got the same blood flow
Oh in society every dollar got a deed
We all need a place that we can go
And feel over the rainbow

Sometimes we forget what we got
Who we are or who we are not
I think we got a chance to make it right
Keep it loose, keep it tight, keep it tight

I'm in love with a girl who's in love with the world
Though I can't help but follow
Though I know someday she is bound to go away
And stay over the rainbow
Got to learn how to let her go over the rainbow

But sometimes we forget who we got
Who they are or who they are not
There is so much more in love than black and white
Keep it loose child, you gotta keep tight
Keep it loose, keep it tight, keep it tight
Keep it tight, yeah


cheers, 
kb.

4302.

I read an article the other day written by an Englishman who was commenting on his definition of home.
many of the lines resonated within me, but a few stood out specifically.

"perhaps home isn't the place you fit in entirely.  perhaps home isn't even the place you fit in most.

perhaps home is the place you allow yourself to fit."  

as many of you know, my definition of 'home' has expanded tremendously over the past several years, and it appears that this knocking down of the supports of previously designed fences and boundaries around most things I try to "get to the bottom of", will continue.  

thanks be to God.  

for where change exists, 

hope lives.  

laughter is needed.

connections with people are made.

lives are altered.

love is experienced.

so, within my quest to be obedient to the word OPEN which has been placed within my spirit, I am working on allowing myself to fit here in dallas.

ninety days.

a milestone hit today in my new role, 

my new job.

and it is fun.

I like it.

what a surprise.

one surprise after another, in fact. 

surprises from Someone who knows me and loves me.

the absolute best sort of surprises.

people are people.

opportunities abound no matter what the setting.

humbled.

thankful.

awe-filled.

for He is good.  

always clear? 

no.

always free from pain? 

no.

always good?  

yes.

if you happen to be in dallas, my place has a sofa bed.  and I am a stone's throw away from  a starbucks and a bookstore.  I mean...  just sayin'.  

cheers,

kb.

good...

poetry.

"...the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  we do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.  and he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance to God's will.
and we *know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
                                                                                                                                   ~romans 8.26-28

in all my moving.
in all my jobs.
in all my relationships.
in all my hurt.
in all my joy.
in all my questions.
in all my victories.
in all my unknowns.
in all my tears.
in all my conversations.
in all my silence.

grace abounds, and I am gifted with windows into goodness.

I feel loss, poverty, plenty, connection, confusion, frustration, clarity...sometimes at the same moments in time.
tension exists.
I like peace.
my romantic heart and head gravitate toward stillness.
within the reality of life lives tension.

tension leads to deeper trust for me.
I arrive at the end of my ability to go it alone in that stretching.

in the last six months or so, I have understood little.

I have recognized and tried to respect reality...
while understanding
very
little.
and in the midst of all of the afore mentioned "in all my"s,
goodness is alive.

oh, that I would *know more.
a friend of mine put the word convinced into my faith vocabulary.
I like the emphasis and passion behind that word.
may we all be more convinced of how deeply we are loved
and how much good is to be encountered.

may your week find you bumping into goodness...
cheers,
kb.

marathon monday!

'ordinary beauty'... the boston globe

so thankful that so many got to run today with joy.  

that so many got to cheer with joy.

so thankful that this day of such celebration in the city of boston 

was once more 

a day 

of joy.

happy patriots' day!

cheers,

kb.

last year, on this day...

I had not slept much.
a manhunt had started in my city, and I was glued to the television anxiously
(perhaps the most anxious I have ever been)
awaiting the word that the the surviving brother had been caught.

'remembering the shootout in watertown'

when stacey left for work around 5:00 a.m., as it was a truck day, I was sitting in the chair in the living room.  she was wicked confused about why on Earth I was awake at such an hour looking scared and haggard.  (not long after she left, she called marco and nadine downstairs to tell them I was upstairs looking a bit uneasy and asked them to check on me.  she is a great friend.)
I explained the situation, and told her I was not planning on leaving the house.
soon after she left, my boss called to say we would not be opening, as all the businesses in watertown and 'the newtons' had been asked by the governor to close to help enable the police and FBI to search more efficiently.

constant news coverage.
replays of footage of the bombing, of the security camera views of the brothers at the marathon.
explanations of how the car chase had begun during the wee hours of the morning:
a convenience store robbery.
an MIT officer from somerville shot and killed.
a car-jacking/kidnapping.
a shootout on laurel street, which also involved the detonation of another pressure cooker bomb.
another officer shot in the leg which nearly killed him.
the older brother being run over and killed by the younger as he drove frantically away to escape.
(it is difficult to remember what details I knew then and what was learned in the days afterward from  news anchors as they found out more detail from that night.  
regardless of when the timeline got pieced together, the memory of my feelings are clear to me.)

at this point in the day (as I began to type this post), stacey had arrived back at home, and though the ban was just about to be lifted on city shutdown, the brother was still at large.

I feel the need to remember today.

watertown is a quiet, residential community adjacent to the handful of newton neighbourhoods.
my daily drive to work at my pilates/barre studio took me the exact path that the brothers took in their police chase overnight on thursday into friday.
while watching the news coverage, the surreal awareness of each corner where the reporters were standing and filming resonated deeply.

'that is the cemetery on common st., where I cut through to get to the belmont pilates studio.'

'that parking lot where the police headquarters has been set up is the same parking lot where I parked to get my MA registration, tags, and driver's license, as well as a target I go to often.'

that day, as I sat in my house wondering if at some point, a suspected bomber might drive into my neighbourhood, I looked out my window to see this lady across the street.
I had to capture it.

after stacey got home, we sat and watched it all unfold.

while filling up my car that week, at my local service station, I noticed the flag at half mast.

the ban on the city gradually was lifted.
firstly, taxis were allowed to return the streets.
then, the T-both subways and bus service.
then, residents were told they could leave their houses.

a man on franklin st. noticed that the cover on his boat was flapping in the breeze, so he went to tie it back down.
the younger brother was found.
911 was called.
and, the news coverage followed the next couple of hours as we wondered if this could really be him.

could we sleep soundly again?
breathe a bit easier?

yes.
they got him.
he was injured but alive.
he was caught.

truly, boston's finest. (watch 'boston's finest' on tnt.)

people lined the street in watertown to cheer the police, FBI, bomb squads, etc. as they drove out of watertown back to their respective precincts and offices.
the news footage was emotional.

I slept better that night.

the next morning, I drove the normal drive to work.  it was quiet like it normally is at seven in the morning on saturday.  

I saw orange cones blocking the entrance into franklin st, and just beyond a news truck.  

other than those indicators, all was as it normally is in my view.

but, it was not the same as usual.

what one sees on the outside oftentimes does not match the inner struggle, pain, and shock.

but, we did, as a whole, as a city, feel a bit better.

we felt proud of our city.

my story of this horrific week in boston is from a distance of a couple miles.

there are so many I know who were feet away from all that unfolded, on boylston street and in watertown.  

I have friends who were two shops away from one of the bombs, saw body parts strewn along the sidewalks, and ran into nearby shops to take cover.

and friends who had bullet holes in the front door of their home from the shootout.

and friends who had men in riot gear search their houses for the younger brother.  

everyone has their own story of that week and each is unique.

how each of us felt is important and real.

we all have a story from that week.  

one that we will not forget.

I wanted to tell a bit of mine.

I pray patriot's day begins to be healed on monday as boston runs a marathon with special significance.

boston, you're my home.

kb.

a year ago today...

boston
was
changed.

it was attacked and shaken.
however, not forever broken.
people, communities of new england, fight and persevere.
they rally and root one another on.

I was meant to have been there only feet away from a tragic event that tainted such a normally glorious day of celebration.
instead, I stayed home to nurse a headache.

I wish I were in my boston home today to commemorate, remember, and honour, in person.
I am not, and yet,
I will
never
forget.


I love boston.  I will always miss it.
it is full of lovely, loyal friends who love people well and live life with authenticity.
it will ever be part of my definition of home.

I am thankful for my family of friends in the commonwealth,
and although I think of you often,
especially today,
I remember alongside you.

kb.

{photo: @mindykaling}

employed.

an earner once again, I am.  last week I was offered, and today it became absolutely official.

I have a job.

one that provides finances for all I need.  

which allows me to work at only one company.

to have a space of my own.

a day-to-day desk where I am able to support others and contribute to a team.

in the uptown neighbourhood of dallas.

each of these facts boggles my brain and will take some time to sink in.  

each.

one.

let the breathing into re-settling into a new city begin.  

may the healthy version of kym emerge once more and hopefully continue to increase in depth.

timely.

good.

absolutely.

thankful.

cheers,

kb.

                     

{photos via: sfgirlbybay / victoria smith (pinterest); ffffound.com; turklurk.tumblr.com; etsy.com}

style.

"walking your little walk...

it is like a woman but also like a little girl."

                                                                     ~luc

cold temperatures today make my heart breathe deep while others feel frustrated and frenzied.  

striving for simplicity.

aesthetics ever important to me.

march.
will it find me nesting?

full on transition ongoing...

cheers,
kb.
{pictures: via: http://www.pinterest.com/kbrynk/}

no part.

a diner.
a date.
connection.

this picture, I love.
(at a glance, it reminds me a bit of harry and sally.)










a city I miss deeply.

a state I relate more to than one listed after a city and prior to a zip code at the end of an address on an envelope.
                 

coffee or a cuppa, depending on the time of day.
a lamp to soften the light in a room to enhance coziness.
a bed indicating a place to rest.
antiquated bricks show character and life lived.
a window allowing for a view but keeping unwanted elements out.
neutral colours to provide for feeling of cleanliness and simplicity.
saucer holding crumbs from recently finished pastry.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
my friend, joel, made a comment the other day that stuck with me.

there is no part of the story that God is disconnected from.

I find that statement deeply comforting.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

friends and family who surround and support are the best gift I have been given in my life, full stop.
how overwhelmed and thankful I am for those who love me so well and so consistently.
thank you notes could be written every hour of every day to each of them, and I would not scratch the surface of being able to communicate my gratitude for how each of them have literally shaped me, influenced me, and uplifted me.

as I slowly navigate this time of 'shift', I know prayers and check-ins from these loved ones literally hold me up and point me forward.
thank you.
blessed, I am.

a bit of work begins this week.
every little helps, in the words of my local grocery spot in londontown.
God is good. all the time.
look for the little things.  they are always there.

cheers,
kb.
{pictures: via: http://www.pinterest.com/kbrynk/, kym brinkley, @madewell}

hope...

Living with Hope Optimism and hope are radically different attitudes. Optimism is the expectation that things-the weather, human relationships, the economy, the political situation, and so on-will get better. Hope is the trust that God will fulfill God's promises to us in a way that leads us to true freedom. The optimist speaks about concrete changes in the future. The person of hope lives in the moment with the knowledge and trust that all of life is in good hands. All the great spiritual leaders in history were people of hope. Abraham, Moses, Ruth, Mary, Jesus, Rumi, Gandhi, and Dorothy Day all lived with a promise in their hearts that guided them toward the future without the need to know exactly what it would look like. Let's live with hope.

during the last few days, hope has risen to the surface.

the possibilities of employment have become a bit more tangible.
some bills waiting to be paid have been sorted out for a bit longer which helps the stress level on my shoulders.
a friend from boston treated me to coffee and a chat this morning which helped to provide perspective and brought a wave of encouragement and a listening ear to allow me to process all the blessings which have fallen upon me in the short time I have been in dallas...
one of my favourites things is connection, new or by way of reunion.  in the just over a fortnight that has found me in this metropolis, chats have occurred with friends from so many of the life chapters in my storyline...
arkadelphia.
bulgaria.
germany.
fayetteville.
colorado.
boston.

I am sat full of
awe.
thankfulness.
hope.

the Lord's plan for us is good and intentional.

^10-11 This is God’s Word on the subject: “As soon as Babylon’s seventy years are up and not a day before, I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

¹² “When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen.

^13-14 “When you come looking for me, you’ll find me.

“Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” God’s Decree.

(jeremiah 29.10-14~the message.)

a day to day journey continues in my life in transition.
I am fairly certain in each of our lives, there is some sort of shifting and/or pocket of unknown.
at times, it all is just a bit more full on than other times.
may we all pray and plead for hope over those corners (or all encompassing parts) of our lives.

cheers,
kb.


















{photos via: http://www.pinterest.com/kbrynk/}

unknowns.

questions.
more questions than answers at the minute.

tangibles to reveal the sense of humour and the intentionality of the Lord are ever present, though.
do you have those "little things" that just make you smirk and struggle to suppress a smile?
maybe not everyone needs these divine run-ins, but I assure you, I certainly do.

as I write this post, I am sat in a starbucks in dallas, tx at a communal table side-by-side with others on their respective computers working on the to-do lists which call their attention.
an irishman sits to my left.
the corners of my mouth struggle to stay even as I hear him chatting on the phone.  he has just finished a meeting with his assistant with whom he interacted quite cheekily.
as I overheard what he said to her and noticed how he leaned in across the table to chat, I wondered if they were perhaps a couple.
then, I heard his accent.
and, it all made sense.  oh, the cheeky irish.
and, it is decided...
barring this bloke deciding to sit here for the whole of the afternoon, I will sit and find things to do to simply be in the space where my ears allow me to soak in some of my uk home.
lovely.

ok, onward to the update, as requested...

as I mentioned, dallas is the locale I am within at the minute.  a dear friend asked me to spend the first couple weeks here helping her sort out her world as she is working to launch her latest dream... a business that is not quite ready for details to be revealed here, but I will tell you it is to do with community, food, and intentionality of experience.
I am honoured to help play a part in this roll out even in a small way.  when it is time to set it all in motion, I will be sure to help spread the word here,
so stay tuned...

this ask from a friend to spend a bit of time in dallas, I feel, is on purpose.
the last several posts have had me mentioning the reality of my 'unknown' column being miles lengthier than my 'known' column of my life list.
not too terribly much has changed.

my network of people here is bigger than I had realized.  many friends from university days, and even my life spent abroad, happen to be located here.
my favourite aunt and uncle live here, and I love getting to spend more time with them.
a couple of job prospects are in the works, as of today, about which I expect to hear back the end of this week or the beginning of next.

so, I am hopeful.
a bit in the dark.
a bit sad, as I miss boston and my friends there.
and also peaceful, mostly down to the very real facts that I feel I am doing all I know to do at the minute to improve/advance my situation.

hope the january cold that is encompassing most of us finds you drinking warm beverages and wearing layers of your favourite wintry clothing.
cheers,
kb.

{photo via: http://sunshineandpearls.tumblr.com/post/36794080352}