Bubbles or Karen profile picture

Bubbles or Karen

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere

About Me


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Well, my name is Karen Eckland, but if you're a friend from Swaziland, Africa you may know me as Sindeswa, or to others of you, you may know me as--Bubbles, Bubbs, Karebear, or any number of nicknames I acquired from Rawhide Ranch. Hmmm....stuff about me....well, in a nutshell, I tend to be a very passionate person. I love the Lord, and I'm very thankful for His taking me from how I was, to the new creation He is continuously making me into. I love to laugh, smile, enjoy life, and have fun. Most of all, I love to serve the Lord in any way I have been gifted. Areas which the Lord has strongly ignited in my heart are those suffering with Aids in Africa, encouraging others, loving the "loveless", prayer, as well as challenging people towards growth. It is my UTMOST desire to leave a strong legacy of living FULLY for the Lord in all I do and say, that all I do points to the Father. We've been given SUCH a limited amount of time, a blink really, and so the biggest part of me is just wanting the Lord to use me in all I do and say. I don't want one second to pass that wasn't his. It's my desire to leave this world having moved hearts closer to the Father. When I'm not trying to change the world (hehe) I love playing my guitar. I also LOVE to sing. Aside from musical areas I love to work with horses. I had worked at a camp in San Diego (Rawhide Ranch) for close to 13 years....working with horses and youth. Let's see what else.....I LOVE to travel! I've gone everywhere but Asia. About a year ago I went to Swaziland, Africa for a missions trip, and since then my heart yearns to go back daily. It was a mission trip teaching about abstinence in Secondary (Junior high and Senior high) schools, as well as sharing the Lord. When we weren't in the classrooms doing that, we were planting gardens, to provide a food source for the people there. We planted 4,000 plus gardens, that consisted of beet root, cabbage, spinach and onion, etc. Swaziland actually has the highest HIV/AIDS rate not only in Africa but in the WHOLE world...it is about 56%. And the unemployment is even higher. This was SUCH a life changing experience. The Lord really did SOOO many amazing things!! I've got to say that not a day goes by that I don't think of the precious people of Swaziland...very near to my heart. I also graduated from Biola University in Dec.'05 receiving my BA in Christian Education. Currently I am working with at-risk inner city teenage girls, in Compton, as a youth counselor for Boys Town (Girls and Boys Town). I absolutely LOVE it!!! God provided the perfect job just for me! :)
Prevent HIV/AIDS.... ....CHOOSE ABSTINANCE!!!
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My Interests

God, Africa, Singing, playing my guitar, being with my amazing friends, deep conversations till all hours of the morning, riding horses, playing scrabble, sushi...mmmm, ministering to troubled youth, love my two dogs...love them--especially my "Codester", kayaking (just got a new one!!), traveling (went to Australia, Europe, South America, All over N. America, and most recently Africa), watching people grow in Christ, reading, writing (stories, poetry, and songs), learning, encouraging others, praying, challenging people of ANY age and being challenged, snowboarding, hiking, backpacking, fishing (I know, I know), biking, SCUBA DIVING (wanna learn badly!!), Skydiving, camping, any outside fun sport, animals, watching Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility for the Umtienth time, playing in the rain, but also coming in later to sit by the fire to read when it's raining, taking pictures, participating in AIDS awareness, asking the tough questions everyone avoids and sitting with people who are willing to ask and answer them, passion, campfires, swimming, worshipping and bringing others into a place of worship, going running with my ipod playing worship music in my ears...love it!, sitting at the park--either praying or watching people, interior design, walking barefoot (best ever...love it!!), loving others and BEING loved, playing in the waves, sitting in the sand watching sunsets and sunrises, and the list goes on.....just love life, and my surroundings---love seeing God throughout life, through people, nature, etc.
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I'd like to meet:

Without a doubt, it would have to be Nelson Mandela. I would love to talk with him, hearing all his stories. Also I would have loved to talk with Mother Theresa, and see her heart in action for the Lord. Aside from that, dunno?

Mickey Mouse

Which DISNEY character are you most like?
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You are Living on the Edge by Aerosmith. You are
very concerned about the world. You have
compassion and a deep want to change how the
world works. You are easily moved, and even
though you sometimes forget to look for the
good in the world, when you do it really
touches you."There's somethin' wrong with the world today I don't know what it is Something's wrong with our eyesWe're seeing things in a different way And God knows it ain't His It sure ain't no surpriseIf you can judge a wise man By the color of his skin Then mister you're a better man than I"

Which Amazing Classic Rock Song Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Music:

I love ALL types of music.Some of my fav's for christian music are Bethany Dillon, United Live, Hillsong, Switchfoot & Relient K (the best!), Kutless, the Kry, Sara Grooves, Nichole Nordeman, Jennifer Knapp, Vicky Beeching, etc.....to the classics like Toto, Journey, Boston, Kansas, Mr. Big, ....as well as country music--such as Allison Kraus (my fav!!), The Wreckers, Little Big Town, Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood, the Judds, Martina McBride, Rissi Palmer, etc. So pretty much anything....just love music...love to listen to it, sing it, perform it, etc

Movies:

August Rush, Kingdom of Heaven, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice (BBC version)--pretty much any movie based on the books by Jane Eyre or from that era, Cinderella Man, Chronicles of Narnia, Miracle, Lord of the Rings, Dead Poet's Society, Finding Forester, Remember the Titans, The Day After Tomorrow, Tears of the Sun, Dragonfly, Last Samurai, Beautiful Mind, Beauty Shop (anything with Queen Latifa...she's my soooul sista), Star Wars both new and old, oh and one more, can't forget this one---Anne of Green Gables...all of them..even the sequels...love these!!

Television:

My fav's???... no competition...Extreme Home Make Over!! Also, I've become thoroughly sucked in by American Idol. I also love Law and Order, CSI, Without a trace, and The Office (SOOO hilarious), etc...pretty much any investigation, crime or law shows...those are always fun to watch

Books:

Definitely the Bible---hands down the best book ever. I love anything written by Henri Nouwen, such as "The Wounded Healer", etc. I also love authors such as Neibuhr "Christ and culture, Wakabayashi "Kingdom Come", any book by Mitch Albom--especially "Tuesdays with Morrie", Larry Crabb, most of the classics, and C.S Lewis books.

Heroes:

heroes....well, I could list people who have greatly impacted my life. Christ is definitely the most obvious to my mind. Then the other top people would be my Jen, who shared Christ with me long ago. She is one special woman of God whom I continue to learn from. She is a constant voice of Christ for me. Truly greatfull that she shared her love for the Lord with me. She has truly a special, tender heart for the Lord. Then Penelope, who is the mother of Nichole Nordeman. She has also been SUCH a special friend. She is a beacon of God's wisdom & truth and is soooo passionate for the Lord. I've learned and grown so much in seeing her heart for the Lord lived out. Another is Mike Mills, who continues to sharpen my sword with his faith and his knowledge of the word. He has always pushed me in my own faith to give it all, or not at all. Truly a man of faith!! And last but certainly NOT least, is my MoMo. Now this woman may seem to live a quiet life, not always in the lime light, or on stage for all to see, but she is certainly a SPECIAL woman of GOD. She has soooo much wisdom and WHAT A HEART for Jesus! What a servant of servants, she is! These people are all warriors for Christ, who are definitely bringing about kingdom change here on Earth. Blessed to be friends with them, and learn from them. I've also been challenged by the lives of Nelson Mandella, Gandhi, and Mother Theresa....pretty amazing people, who wanted to impact the world. I could keep listing them, really, but I'll leave it at these ones.

My Blog

I know who I am....

I surely know WHO'S I am. So thankful that no matter how I run, or where I go, the Father is there...open arms, and forgiving. I'm truly thankful! This week has just been SUCH a reminder of His goodne...
Posted by Bubbles or Karen on Sun, 25 Nov 2007 09:24:00 PST

Are you asleep??

First off, I've got to say, this week has been SUCH an emotional one. For those of you who don't know, I gave my notice to my work (church) a couple weeks ago. This week was my last. It was SUCH a har...
Posted by Bubbles or Karen on Sat, 20 Oct 2007 08:07:00 PST

Sawubona!

Unjani?? (how are you?) I know this may seem like a random thought...but I am really missing Swaziland & the people there tonight. I don't think one day passes where the people of Swaziland, the situ...
Posted by Bubbles or Karen on Fri, 03 Aug 2007 10:16:00 PST

To all my single friends...

Hey there! This was written in a blog of one of my dear friends, and it just spoke the passion of my heart for myself, and others. I pray that each of you who are single, or even those engaged, would ...
Posted by Bubbles or Karen on Sat, 16 Jun 2007 11:22:00 PST

My journey...

Ok, as promised here is a blog of what God's been doing. I would have wrote it sooner, but the Lord had a little more He wanted to do in my heart in that area, before writing it out to each of you guy...
Posted by Bubbles or Karen on Mon, 09 Apr 2007 07:45:00 PST

God is sooooo Good!!!

He is sooo great!!! I don't have a whole lot of time right now to write, but maybe tomorrow, or when I get a free moment, I really want to expand on what AMAZING things the Lord is doing in me and wit...
Posted by Bubbles or Karen on Sun, 18 Mar 2007 07:36:00 PST

Bon Voyage......

You heard it right....I'll be leaving December 30th till January 9th on a cruise to all the Hawaiian Islands. I'm not much of a cruise person...I like to backpack, etc. But this will be fun. I'm going...
Posted by Bubbles or Karen on Fri, 03 Nov 2006 10:34:00 PST

are you married or single???

So these past couple weeks I have been trying to be intentional about getting together with old friends, some of whom I haven't talked with or seen in ages!! It's been so wonderful! We were able to ca...
Posted by Bubbles or Karen on Sat, 19 Aug 2006 10:35:00 PST

Lives leaving a legacy

As I was writing the last blog...I looked at those who I have on my top 8, and I am just reminded of what makes each of them amazing individuals...they are living extraordinary lives for the Father. I...
Posted by Bubbles or Karen on Fri, 30 Jun 2006 10:19:00 PST

Unwavering Love

Today at work, before I took my lunch break a couple of people on staff brought two tiny tiny baby birds in its nest, to my office. Unfortunately the nest, along with the babies, had fallen out of the...
Posted by Bubbles or Karen on Fri, 30 Jun 2006 09:38:00 PST