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Growing in Trust: Professionalism

5. February 2014 / Kerstin Hack

A short while ago, Birgit-Cathrin Duval was on board my ship. She interviewed me and took photographs for a report about my ship project.Despite the cold, I felt totally well. She didn’t ask me to make unnatural poses that are supposedly potent – I’ve experienced that before. Rather, she understood how to see me. Once in a while, she made small comments like “Head a little more down,” when I had overstretched my neck. Otherwise, she worked calmly and professionally. And the pictures… here is one of them… speak for themselves. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a pretty picture of me that radiates power as well as reflecting my dreams. I find it simply wonderful… almost better than the original… (and I wasn’t even wearing make-up… it’s all real!).

I myself am not photographically untalented, but her picture of the ice floes on the Spree uniquely expresses the mood that reigned there last week. It was calm, but at the same time always funny, when we heard knocking on board and we asked ourselves: who’s there? And then we remembered… no, that was just an ice floe that had smacked against the keel.

You can see in her pictures that Birgit is a professional. Because I am currently thinking a lot about trust, I realized that this is also an aspect of trust: the professionalism with which a person goes to work. There are a few very well trained coaches whom I would more easily trust than someone who means well but doesn’t have command of the required tools. And I myself go to yearly trainings in order to broaden my knowledge and abilities. Wenn ich gerade so über Gott nachdenke, dann wird mir klar Er ist der professionellste von allen: Der bestausgebildetes Coach, der kreativste Künstler, der erfahrenste Arzt, der begabteste Zimmmermann, der umfassennds gebildete Lehrer, der Meister aller Meister… Ich nehme mir das mal vor: Wenn ich Gott wegen etwas vertrauen will, dann überlege ich mir, auf welche Art und Weise er in dem Bereich Experte ist. Ich denke, das könnte beim Vertrauen helfen. Ein Beispiel: Aktuell belastet es mich, dass ich an Bord so viele Dinge habe, die wertvoll sind, die ich aber nicht mehr brauche und die im Weg rumstehen. Ich wünche mir, dass ich all die Sachen an die richtigen Menschen und zu möglichst guten Preisen – loswerde. Wenn ich dafür bete, dass Gott mich dabei unterstützt, dann tut es mir gut, mich daran zu erinnern, dass er Aufräumprofi ist. Er schafft es im Riesenchaos, wo es wüst und leer war, Ordnung zu schaffen und eine kreative neue Welt zu gestalten. Da dürfte es ja kein so großes Problem für ihn sein, mir zu helfen, ein so kleines Schiff zu organisieren….

Impulsheft Fotografieren Down to Earth Verlag

Sprung zurück zu Birgit. Weitere Fotos und einen Kurzbericht über ihren Besuch an Bord sowie einen Podcast mit einem Interview zum Schiffsprojekt gibt es auf ihrem Blog. Und: Birgit behält ihr Wissen nicht für sich. Allen, die gern von ihr lernen möchten, empfehle ich ihr Impulsheft “Fotografieren! mit richtig guten Tipps von einer Meisterin. Fotografieren gibt es auch als Ebook. Und ihren Blog Takkiwrites für weitere wunderschöne Bilder und spannende Reoprtagen.

– See more at: http://kerstinpur.de/allgemein/vertrauen-lernen-professionalitaet/#sthash.KRIr6GFS.dpuf

Growing in Trust: The Substance is Invisible

4. February 2014 / Kerstin Hack

On the ship, there is much work that one later won’t see. First, the steel is derusted, then vacuumed and cleaned, then preserved with ship flooring oil, then painted with primer. Before each new layer, it has to dry well and be washed in order for the next layer to hold. Finally (again after washing!), two layers of insulation get laid down. Then the laths for the paneling, then the paneling. In the end, people only see the pretty wood on the wall. They don’t see the many hours of work that are behind making the ship safe and warm: the substance is invisible to the eye. Sometimes after going through a new process, I forget all the things that went into it, and I have to remind myself consciously: oh yea, first I had to derust, then… I only see the respective last layer. I also find it interesting that the word for “paneling” in German is the same word used for “costume.” I think it’s a pretty picture for the inner processes in our lives… that what is underneath is no longer visible to the eye in the end, and yet, it’s still substantial. The substance is invisible to the eye. – See more at: http://kerstinpur.de/allgemein/vertrauen-lernen-das-wesentliche-ist-unsichtbar/#sthash.jVkO4EpJ.dpuf

Growing in Trust: For What Can I Trust?

31. January 2014 / Kerstin Hack

The theme “Growing in Trust” is still occupying me. A central question that is on my mind is, “For what can I trust?” I don’t mean the foundational questions: on what or on whom I found my trust. That is, at least in theory, relatively clear. I am much more occupied with the question, “For which concrete things or behaviors of God can I hope on the basis of the claims of the Bible?” I am still sorting this out. A long time ago, I thought I could trust that everything would work out the way I thought it would. I was that naive, at least theoretically, but at least I’m not anymore. For one, God never promises what the process will look like. Once, God promised David that he was going to become king. The “small print” about how much character building, difficulties, and challenges would come before that, David painfully discovered over the next years and decades, surely with a ton of frustration. If I correctly understood God, He allowed the idea of building this ship to grow within me. This doesn’t mean that everything will go smoothly. 1011224_10152199906240985_1421443121_n My current level of knowledge: I can not trust that everything will go smoothly, but I can trust that God is with me and also wants to and will give me advice. Photo “Eistee” (Ice Tea) by Nuno Soares – See more at: http://kerstinpur.de/glaube/vertrauen-wofuer-kann-ich-vertrauen/#sthash.igNqcjPd.dpuf

The Most Beautiful Moment

27. January 2014 / Kerstin Hack

As I was walking home through the snow today, I asked myself what the most beautiful moment of the day was… and couldn’t decide. – Perhaps it was the moment when I woke up this morning and realized that I wasn’t feeling nauseous anymore – the evening before, I upset my stomach by eating food that was too fatty. – Perhaps it was the moment when an executive told me that he stumbled across the quadro “Learning to Forgive” through an article in ZEIT online… and through this, the whole association discovered me (How did ZEIT online find us? We didn’t do it!) – Perhaps it was the moments when I saw that around 30 pastors and responsible employees were intensively listening to me, taking notes, and taking in what I was saying about the treasures that I’ve discovered through coaching and psychological concepts. And how I could see through practical exercises for individual concepts how much they were innerly moved. – Perhaps it was the mid-day walk through the snow. – Perhaps it was the moment when the director found out that I thought it was a shame that there was no snowball fight and suggested sending me off with a snowball fight… – Perhaps it was the moments when the man who drove me an hour to the next train station answered my request, “Tell me something about yourself!” with a brief description of his career and then a detailed explanation of the seven months before the death of his wife – the most intense phase of their marriage. – Perhaps it was the time when I was sitting in the train and was reading a novel for relaxation in which a man struggled to rekindle the love between himself and his wife after a 30 year marriage that had fallen asleep – and while I read, a man in the next section played accordion… a live concert for me… – Perhaps it was the moment after I got out of the train in Berlin when I discovered that my cell phone was gone and a train conductor allowed me (although I didn’t have the appropriate ticket) to ride to the main station in the hopes of finding my previous train (it was actually still there) and tried to help me through his cellphone connections and network. And I – while he was searching – discovered the phone in the wrong pocket in my bag. – Perhaps it was the moment when I stopped bymy neighbor’s with whom I often pray, and I told her that everything went well and she rejoiced with me… – Or perhaps it’s the moment now… when, after a long, good day in which I gave and received much, I fall thankful and happy and dog-tired into bed… and look forward to sleeping like a rock. – See more at: http://kerstinpur.de/allgemein/der-schoenste-moment/#sthash.mi5vSfoF.dpuf

Growing in Trust: I like God

22. January 2014 / Kerstin Hack

This morning as I stood in the kitchen still half-asleep, it suddenly came to me: I like God. Of course I honor and obey Him – He’s God. That’s obvious! But as I stood there and considered whether I wanted orange juice or coffee or both, it suddenly hit me: I like God.

I like His creativity, the range of colors with which He makes plants and flowers – I like His creative power.
I also like His approachableness, His warmth, and nearness.
I like His brightness, His expression.
I like the depths of His heart.
I like that He talks to and with me.
I like that He hears me.
I like that He knows me and still wants to discover me.
I like that He enjoys taking care of me.
I like Him.
I really like Him.

Sometimes I wish He was different. I wish He would act more often like I imagine. But when I imagine that I had a husband who was the way I sometimes wish God would be, I’m horror-struck. I would soon be seeing Him like a wimp who does everything that I say. Terrible! I currently have three Portuguese men on board who are helping me. Sometimes, when I tell them: do this or that this way, they say clearly, “No!” usually with good reason: because it’s better another way. Sometimes it’s just because they prefer to do things differently. This is also good and motivated by the wish to support me and help me in the best ways! And I don’t have to carry any heavy bags when they are near: they enjoy taking the burden from me. In looking at this, it’s clear to me: I even like God when He is sometimes “macho,” when He insists on His own independence and doesn’t let me tell Him what to do – at least not about how He should do things, and nevertheless acts out of love for me.

I like God!

– See more at: http://kerstinpur.de/glaube/im-vertrauen-wachsen-ich-mag-gott/#sthash.WN9DAD0y.dpuf

Growing in Trust: Sad Answers to Prayer

19. January 2014 / Kerstin Hack

Did I trust today? Yes! Trusting God – during and despite disappointment in humans During the first phase of renovation, I worked together with a shipbuilder who took responsibility for the work. He worked on many areas properly and well, but unfortunately not on all. In some areas, this is not so tragic: when new lacquer is laid over old lacquer on the ceiling and both come off together when someone hits their head against it, it’s annoying. However, when in the underwater areas of the ship rusty spots aren’t cleaned or insulated, it’s not just annoying, it’s life-threatening. Every rust spot is a source of danger if not treated. So my prayer in the last few months was that God would make me aware of all of the places that need to be reworked. I discovered a spot with black core rust in the seminar room in the keel of the ship and another further above. Yesterday, someone helped me lay insulation. He didn’t get it stuck well in the corner, and I pulled the insulation up to show him how to do it properly. Suddenly, I didn’t just have the insulation in my hand but also a palm-sized piece of lacquer and rust. I almost cried. It is so frustrating when I can’t trust the work that someone else did (The black areas on the picture to the left are rust spots. The big black areas to the right are black insulation). Here it is – only 5 months old – lacquer already flaking. This morning as I was talking with God about it, it became clear to me: God is answering my prayer. I had asked Him to show me the areas that aren’t sound. The area yesterday was really a random find… normally rust hides well under white lacquer. Yes, I am sad that there are bad spots on the ship despite the performed and paid work, but I am thankful that we’ve already discovered some of the most critical spots. God has obviously answered my prayer. 2014-01-13 16.02.37 I am also thankful for the people who help me. Last week, my cousin derusted and oil-sealed about 15 square meters that according to my estimation and the opinions of multiple shipbuilders whom I asked hadn’t been worked on at all. Now, friends from Portugal are painting it again with primer, and then we can put on the insulation. The whole thing cost me three extra weeks of time and was very frustrating, but better safe than sorry. In short: I am sad that the situation is the way it is and thankful that God answered my prayers and thankful for the support of other people! I ask my God to comfort me about my experienced harm… and am excited to see what He comes up with! – See more at: http://kerstinpur.de/glaube/im-vertrauen-wachsen-traurige-gebetserhoerung/#sthash.CcHN4Gs4.dpuf

Growing in Trust: The Foundations for Trust

16. January 2014 / Kerstin Hack

Did I trust today? Yes! Above all, I trusted that I have enough time for taking breaks – despite or perhaps because I am currently in the middle of a writing marathon. A first milestone has been reached: the manuscript for the inspirational booklet about Coco Chanel is finished. I enjoyed being preoccupied with this fascinating woman. The next weeks will bring the following: an article about God’s promises, the quadro Lean and Fit, a lecture: Nonviolent Communication, another lecture: Spirituality and Psychology. Then two more inspirational booklets: Friendship and Grief. Although I enjoy writing and do so quickly, this is still a lot of work. Oh yea, I’m building a ship on the side which means all kinds of organizational work. The Foundations for Trust I recently asked myself what the foundations for my trust in God are. The basics for me are these four things:

– God is good and trustworthy in His essence.
– God is powerful and can shape and change situations (even if He doesn’t always do so).
– God is relational. He want’s to be close to me.
– God is task-oriented. He wants to cause good things in this world.

Upon these cornerstones, I can anchor my trust:

Because God is good, I can trust that He is also good to me.
Because He is powerful, I can trust that He can also act for me.
Because He is close to me, I can feel secure.
Because He wants to affect things in the world, I can trust that He will help me in the tasks with which He has entrusted me.

This doesn’t mean that I expect everything in life to go smoothly. That would be a delusion. God is powerful, but He limits His power within the boundaries of the personal responsibility of people and the expectation of being invited to act (Christians call this invitation “prayer”). – See more at: http://kerstinpur.de/glaube/im-vertrauen-wachsen-die-basis-fuer-vertrauen/#sthash.dyKesEZQ.dpuf

Trust 2014

11. January 2014 / Kerstin Hack

Over the last few months, I often asked myself the question: was I alive today? I feel like this is not going to be my theme for the next few months. I am alive, and I am aware of life (sometimes more, sometimes less). I notice an inherent liveliness and am pleased. This year, it is important to me to grow in trust. I would like to trust God more, trust myself more, and trust other people more (as appropriate). For me, appropriate means: according to how well I know people in general and this person in particular. Some people, whom I know very well and have known for a long time, I trust very much. For others, trust is still growing. First, I have to discover in which areas I can and cannot trust them. What have I learned today about trust? It is lovely and calming when I can trust people. On New Year’s Eve, I prayed for the new year with a very good friend. For more than 15 years, I have known her as a woman who has a very intimate relationship with God and is sensitive to hearing Him speak. We asked God to tell us what is important to Him for the different areas of my life (publishing company, ship, health) and then discussed what we each heard internally. About health, she said that the keyword “salt bath” came to mind. She couldn’t figure out what it meant, but I knew. I know that stress, both internal as well as “only” physical (like through building a ship), overacidificates the muscles, and natural sea salt or rock salt brings balance and regeneration. For Christmas, I (not completely unselfishly) gave my neighbor and friend, Sonja, a two-for-the-price-of-one coupon book. There wasn’t a coupon for a salt bath in the book, but there was one for Saltero: a massage and a time of relaxation in a completely salt-coated grotto. After a while there, it was as if I were at the sea: my airways are clear again, I can breathe more freely and deeply, my back is wonderfully relaxed, hours later my skin in still pleasantly lightly salty, and I am wonderfully relaxed. It wasn’t exactly a salt bath, but it was pretty close. Without the impulse from my friend, I surely wouldn’t have gone, and now I am very glad. Trust was good to me. And: I would like to go there again… – See more at: http://kerstinpur.de/erlebnisse/vertrauen-2014/#sthash.EayO7Uve.dpuf

Joint Effort 2013

31. December 2013 / Kerstin Hack

A few days ago, I discussed with a good friend about which word could be used to describe the year 2013. My word for 2013 is “effort!” This year was an effort.

I had to reconcile five jobs:

– Publisher
– Author
– Coach
– Speaker
– Shipbuilder

Then there were still a handful of challenges to overcome:

The flooding of the ship in January
The unexpectedly high wharf costs
The difficulties with transporting the ship
A long time of illness within the publishing team
A stupid chronic cold

Short and sweet: It was a handful of life and a handful of challenges: a real effort. I am thankful that I overcame them, which wasn’t only because of me alone. I estimate that so far over 50 people have practically helped with the ship for a few hours, days, or even weeks. Over 250 different people have made the shipbuilding possible through small and large donations. Even when I try to do as much as I can myself, I would never have accomplished it alone.

So I am thankful that this year, which was a real effort, was so well managed and is mostly behind me now. I am excited for 2014, which will surely also be a bit of effort but will hopefully also bring me closer to the fulfillment of my dreams.

– See more at: http://kerstinpur.de/erlebnisse/gemeinsamer-kraftakt-2013/#sthash.f55e7iUY.dpuf

Discovering Life – Ants and Kings

29. December 2013 / Kerstin Hack

Was I alive today?

Yes!

What new thing did I learn about life?

From a report via a television program on the topic the beauty of women: Lebanese women are considered the most beautiful women of the Near East because of their facial features and figures – my German-Lebanese friend told me about it. They spend tremendous amounts of time and energy on creating and maintaining their beauty and go, when they can afford it, to the salon around three times per week. In a society where the ratio of women to men is 3:1 (many young men work abroad), enormously high competition reigns. 90% of all women choose to have their children via cesarean section, because they see it as safer and less beauty-threatening than natural birth. Right now, the young women who are educated are finding themselves in conflict regarding whether they want to continue to “play the game,” but they often don’t have a choice.

What new thing did I learn about myself?

Sometimes it bothers me when I compare myself to how things should be done – and I find it wonderful when God then says to me, “You are good enough.” There are people who can plan things to the smallest detail – I am not one of them. I can only approach things in stages and layers.

Once in a while, people criticize me for the way I am approaching things with the ship, “Kerstin, you should first contract with engineering consultants to draw up a complete plan before you proceed.” “You should contract with a ship-builder…” etc.

My good friend, with whom I am currently enjoying a few restful days, prayed this morning and asked God what He would like to say to me. She felt like she should read Proverbs 6. Among other things, she read, “The ants are self-organized, have no king, yet still fill their barns!”

She felt like God wanted to say to me, “Kerstin, there are work teams that don’t have a king to tell them what to do. With your ship project, you have teams that more or less organize themselves. And that is OK! That’s also a possibility. And you will reach your goal and ‘fill your barn.'”

That really encouraged me. I don’t need to be anything other than myself… I am allowed to be how I am… and my God deals and works with me in my fashion. How incredibly comforting!

– See more at: http://kerstinpur.de/erfolg/leben-entdecken-ameisen-und-koenige/#sthash.qe0ztKJQ.dpuf

Heart of Berlin

Page 5 of 17

Growing in Trust: Professionalism

Growing in Trust: The Substance is Invisible

Growing in Trust: For What Can I Trust?

The Most Beautiful Moment

Growing in Trust: I like God

Growing in Trust: Sad Answers to Prayer

Growing in Trust: The Foundations for Trust

Trust 2014

Joint Effort 2013

Discovering Life – Ants and Kings

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