Make your Tea Convenient for College

School has started back up and with that comes the question, "How do I have time for tea?"

For most people, including myself, it just seems more convenient to wait in line and purchase a cup of coffee.  That way, we don't have to make it ourselves and can just take it with us to our destinations.  It becomes very easy to grab a cup of sugary coffee (if you drink it black, props to you) every day on the way to class.

I thought I'd give you my two solutions to this problem.

1.  Make tea in your room and take it to class.

This really doesn't take as long as it sounds.  Microwave a cup of water, pour it into your travel mug, drop your tea bag in and take it to class.  Or you can get a tea tumbler.  If you like looseleaf tea, this would be a good option for you.  A tea tumbler comes with a strainer in it (usually at the top of the tea tumbler).  You put your looseleaf tea in the strainer and then pour your hot water into the tea tumbler for it to steep.  Then you take your looseleaf tea out of the strainer and you're good to go.  I have a hot water heater that I fill with water and plug in.  After it heats up, I pour it in my travel mug, drop my tea bag in, and take it to class.

2.  Take your tea in your purse/bag.

I recently went to a tea room called Inspirations in Oklahoma City that I go to often with my mom. My friend Brettley and I found these little cases that have five tea sachets in them.

We thought it would be a good idea to buy one to carry in our purses and just refill with different kinds of teas.  It has been a great help for me coming back to school.  My cafeteria serves hot water next to the coffee and so does the deli in the building I have classes.  This is a great option for if you don't have a travel mug.  I just grab a cup, fill it with hot water, and take a tea bag out of my case from my purse.  It's a really convenient way to make tea.  Look for those "hot spots" at your school.

Hopefully this will make making tea a little more convenient for you at school!  Give it a try.  Plus, making your own tea saves you a lot of money.

Kayla

S.I.T with Me

Never did I think I would be a business major.

I was that person who walked around campus wondering why people would ever want to be business majors and telling myself I would never be one.  My perspective was that the Kingdom came through music, church ministry, and missions.  And because I wrote music and wanted to use it to see people come to know the love of God, I very strongly stood behind my perspective.

But here I am today, a business major going into the field of marketing.

More and more people are beginning to move towards social business.  These days it's not just about hobbies.  People want their hobbies to mean something.  Everyone wants to make a difference in some way.  Playing a guitar or loving to cook is now taking the appearance of putting on benefit shows for the impoverished or putting on nice dinners for the homeless.  

People today don't just want to live.  They want to live knowing they are helping others live.

This is where my heart is as well.  I don't just want to create.  I want to create for good.  But it takes business to do that.  And my hope is to be a student every day and gain insights.  Insights that I can use now and in the future and apply to my every day life.  And I hope to pass on that information to you that you may gain insights for what you hope to do as well.

So let's s.i.t (student insights today) together, become students, and change the world.

Kayla

He Makes All Things Beautiful in His Timing

This is one of those times I've felt a few times in the past year, since I started my music campaign "Songs for Orphans" in January.

One of those times where I just sit here and can't even begin to believe what the Lord has done and is doing right now in my life.

I feel like the happiest person alive.  And how could I not be?  God has tapped into the deepest desires of my heart and let me in on His, and our dreams and desires have molded together into something that honestly puts me in awe and sometimes to the point of tears.  I get to write His words and sing His fatherly heart over people.  I, in one of my most passionate areas (music), get to see people reconciled to the Father's heart.  I get to sing for orphans.  He makes all things beautiful in His timing.

Never in my wildest dreams would I have believed that this is what I would be doing with music.  I had totally different plans in my mind.  But even though I had different plans in my mind, He knew the true dreams in my heart that I didn't even know about yet.  The dreams that would be the most fulfilling for me and that I couldn't take the credit for.  He makes all things beautiful in His timing.

Two years ago and for two years, doors slammed shut in my face because I didn't know what our dream was yet.  And now the Lord has awakened our dream inside of me, surfaced it, and completely provided for it.  I honestly have always had a hard time saving my own money, and so I have never really been able to get my own equipment when it comes to music.  But the Father has provided for me even in the midst of my weaknesses.  All of the money and the equipment I needed (for recording and shows) have literally, what I feel like, come out of nowhere and left me with still more money that can be given away.

I'm completely blown off my feet by the Father's love.

And I hope this can be a testimony to someone that if you feel like you are in a period where doors are slamming shut in your face, don't be discouraged.  Give it to Him completely.  You may have plans in your mind but have no idea what the dream for you and Him is yet on this earth.  He wants to awaken that dream inside of you, surface it, and provide everything for it in His timing.  He makes all things beautiful in His timing.

And I'm sure someday soon you'll be sitting down like me, having one of these times where you can't even begin to believe what the Lord has done, or what He is doing right now in your life.

Kayla

DIY: Iced Black Tea with Milk & Cinnamon Dolce

Lately I've been getting this drink from Starbucks that a friend told me about.  It's iced black tea with milk instead of water and cinnamon dolce syrup.

This drink is awesome to get at Starbucks because it tastes great and is cheaper than most drinks (since it's tea).  This is a sweet drink and is great for the middle of the day (especially during this heat) or after dinner.  It has the same texture and consistency as iced chai so if you don't like iced chai you may as well skip on this post now.

Anyway, I decided after getting it a few times that I was going to try and make it myself in the near future.  Well, today is the near future and I didn't do such crappy of a job so I thought I'd pass it on.

DO IT YOURSELF:

Step 1.  Brew your tea.

You want to get this started first so it can steep for a little bit and you get all the flavor.  I bought a box of regular black tea from the Asian Market here in OKC but you can probably get a similar kind at your local grocery store.  I would recommend getting the Iced Black Tazo Tea if you can find it.  I let mine steep the whole time I prepared everything else.

Step 2.  Make cinnamon dolce syrup.

I actually googled how to make it and there are several recipes out there.  It's not too hard and doesn't take much time.  This is how I made mine:

Put 1/2 cup of white sugar, 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon in a small saucepan.  Stir it up.

Add 1 cup of water and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Heat until it boils and keep stirring.

Remove from the heat and let it cool for several minutes.

Step 3.  Here is what you need from this point: your cup, brewed tea, syrup, ice and choice of milk (I am using original almond milk-at Starbucks I get soy and probably like it better).  You can get these both at the grocery store.

Take your cup and pour your brewed tea (by now it should be semi-warm) into it as so:

Add your choice of milk (you want about as much milk as tea):

Add your syrup (you can add as much as suits your tastebuds):

Stir it all up and then add your ice.  I would recommend refrigerating it for ten minutes or so.  The colder this drink, the better.

There you go!
I hope this drink helps you enjoy the rest of the summer! (It's ridiculously hot here in OK).

Kayla