Unstoppable

Why You Should Eat Lunch While You Read This

2010-09-14T19:39:00.000-07:00

You will die someday.

This is a very well-known fact. It is a fact that is not, perhaps, easily accepted by all of the "you"s that are out there. Nevertheless, it is a fact that has been proven for generations, and based on this track record, you can be certain it will be proven again.

The question then remains...well, there are many questions that remain. One of them is, what to do with the time you now know you have in limited quantities? (Hopefully you knew that before now, when you're eating lunch and reading this. If you didn't, you might be about to prove the aforementioned fact a lot sooner than you otherwise would have, due to a condition known as heart failure. But I digress.) Well, that question has many answers and I will not try to cover them all here. However, I will say that, in light of the limited quantities of time you have, you ought to pack as much into that time as you can so it's worth something. Then, I will further say that one facet of packing as much as possible into that limited time has a name: multitasking!

Why should you multitask? That, at least, has a simple answer: because all of us have to spend a lot of time doing things that we really don't want to do, but that are necessary for living. For example: driving, brushing your teeth, eating lunch, standing in line, waiting for your ride, and so on. (Doing homework does not count. Sorry.) It's easy to excuse these activities because they are, after all, necessary. But hasn't the question, "Couldn't I be doing something more worthwhile right now?" ever crossed your mind during such activities?

You could dispense with these activities altogether, but this would have far-reaching, unforeseen, and potentially harmful consequences, including but not limited to: no education, no social life, rotting teeth, lack of social skills, bad breath, hunger, premature death.

Thus, multitasking presents itself as a viable solution. How to multitask? Simple: combine essential, worthwhile activities and get double the sizzle for your seconds. (Or, double the madness for your minutes. Or, double the handiness for your hours. In short, more.) Practically, here are some examples.

You are standing in line in the grocery store. DO: Strike up a conversation with a fellow shopper; review your checkbook register; call or text a friend or family member. DO NOT: thumb through "People" magazine (this does not qualify as an essential or particularly worthwhile activity.)
You are brushing your teeth. DO: something that involves your free hand. Personally, I like reading. It sounds weird and looks funny, but not only are you productively multitasking, you brush your teeth longer without realizing it. DO NOT: try to pick your outfit for tomorrow (this is virtually impossible with only one hand and ends up being "interrupted-tasking".)
You are driving. DO: listen to quality music; listen to a book on tape; pray for someone who needs it; intentionally admire God's creation; think deeply about a certain issue; talk to a passenger. DO NOT: be on your cell phone (this is a bad idea and illegal some places. Getting a ticket is certainly not an essential activity.)
You are a passenger. DO: read; talk to the driver; write; catch up on sleep; get inspired by the vistas you are passing. DO NOT: stare out the window, vaguely thinking, "I should do something..."
You are waiting for your ride. DO: review your notes for history class; talk to your mom; pray that your ride learns time management skills. DO NOT: tap your foot and stare at the clock. This accomplishes absolutely nothing. I speak from experience.
You are watching a movie you like, but have seen many times. DO: knit; cross-stitch; crochet; stretch; cook; scrapbook. DO NOT: chew your fingernails.
You are eating lunch. DO: have a quality conversation with a friend or family member; read if you are alone; study for an upcoming test; read blog posts. DO NOT: chew and talk at the same time.
You are exercising. DO: exercise with a friend or family member; listen to quality music; listen to a book on tape; admire God's creation if you're outside; pray. DO NOT: think of how much you hate this.
You have a free afternoon with "nothing to do". DO: make a to-do list, because you most certainly have something to do. If you really can't think of something, ask a friend or family member if they need help with a project. (Yeah, now you come up with something.) DO NOT: do nothing.

After all this, you may assume that I am a hater of free time. On the contrary - free time is something I cherish, on the rare occasion that it pops up. But, I can say from experience that free time is a lot more enjoyable when it actually is free - without those annoying little tasks that could be combined with something else to save time. So, multi-task! Make the most of the time you have, and spend the most time investing in things that will last past that time. That's the most important thing to keep in mind.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a sandwich to polish off.

Being Positive

2010-02-10T20:02:00.000-08:00

"You know what the difference between you and me is? You see the whale as half-empty; I see the whale as half-full!" (Jonah: A Veggetales Movie)

I think we all know a positive person - someone who seems to be perpetually cheerful, who rarely talks down about people, who has an uncanny ability to cheer you up whenever you're around them; someone who avoids arguments and keeps the peace. Unfortunately, chances are likely that we know a negative person too. You know the type - someone who always has something to complain about or something negative to point out about the food or the movie or the people who are passing by; someone who assumes the worst in people and has a generally pessimistic outlook about life.

Which of these two people would you prefer to be around? Almost all of us would, without hesitation, pick the first person. After all, positive people tend to be easy to get along with and fun to be around. One thing that we might not perhaps realize, however, is that we will tend to attract people who are similar to us. Therefore, if I prefer hanging out with positive people, I first need to work on becoming a positive person myself.

How do you become a positive person? As I've been thinking about this over the last couple of weeks, here are a few things that came to mind.

Think positively. The first order of business is to develop some self-esteem. I'm not going to go into detail because there are already a lot of good articles on the subject of self-confidence, but let me just say that, in general, negative thinking makes for negative words and positive thinking makes for positive words. And, as the famous and very wise quote goes on from there, "Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become your character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny." If you want to be a positive person, start by viewing yourself and your world in a positive (though not narcissistic) light.

Find something nice to say. Your best friend just walked in the room wearing the ugliest dress you've ever seen? Your great-aunt made a casserole that you could barely get down? A classmate asks you to read and comment on a mistake-ridden paper he or she wrote? Find something nice to say. Tell your friend how much you like her earrings or the way she's wearing her hair today. Compliment your great-aunt on the accompanying vegetables or dessert. Tell your classmate that her topic was very original. A few tips: first of all, and very importantly, don't let your true reaction show on your face. If you do, anything nice you say afterwards will sound forced. And secondly, don't lie. Find something nice to say about something you actually think is nice. If you can't find anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Just smile.

Note: The time might come when your friend, great-aunt, or classmate actually desires your real opinion about something. If so, say something nice - and then share your true opinion gently.

Not all thoughts need to be shared. A sure sign of a negative person is someone who has to say everything they're thinking. Don't spoil someone else's enjoyment of a movie, sport, meal, song, etc. by sharing every opinion you have on the subject. If you have something positive to say, go ahead, but if it's negative, stop and check yourself. Is this comment helpful? Is this comment going to make someone else feel stupid for liking what I don't like? Does this comment add anything to what's going on?

Accommodate other people's quirks. Your brother hates bacon in his scrambled eggs, but you love it. When you make scrambled eggs for both of you, you have two options. Do you put bacon in the eggs and tell your brother to live with it, possibly starting a foolish argument? Or do you leave the bacon out and save it for when you're only making eggs for yourself? To avoid being negative about someone else's likes/dislikes and choices, the positive person would accommodate this quirk and choose option 2. This applies to a broad range of quirks, such as furniture arrangement, restaurant preference, movie or TV preferences, organizational preferences, and the list goes on and on. Accommodate other people's quirks and, every once in a while, let them accommodate yours. The more self-sacrificing you're willing to be when it comes to these little things, the more positive and pleasant a person you will be.

Turn your lemons into lemonade. I am writing this at a time when we have a very unusual 3+ feet of snow outside. Because of this, pretty much everything that was supposed to take place around here has been cancelled since last Friday. The negative person could look at this situation and begin to go on about how much they hate snow, how inconvenient it is, how much their back aches from shoveling, and why the heck can't we all move to Bermuda? The positive person could take several angles: being thankful for a week off school, appreciating the exercise that results from shoveling, pointing out how beautiful freshly fallen snow is. The positive person could also take positive action by helping a neighbor shovel their driveway, using the extra time to catch up on tasks, and spending more time with his or her family.

Give people the benefit of the doubt. If you want to be a positive person, you will not always assume the worst in people. This is a huge trademark of a negative person: "oh, so-and-so will probably be late. They always are." "I'm sure so-and-so forgot. What a waste of time for me to come here." This immediately casts "so-and-so" into a negative light and puts a damper on positive thoughts that anyone had about "so-and-so". As "Communication: Making Connections" by William Seiler and Melissa Beall puts it, "We are always trying to explain why people behave the way they do, and to do this, we must make assumptions...attribution error occurs when we perceive other as acting as they do because they 'are that kind of person' rather than because of any external factors that may have influenced their behavior."

There are almost always situations (that you will often know nothing about) that factor into a person's behavior - whether it be tardiness, forgetfulness, disorganization, and so on. A negative person is quick to jump to a conclusion and judge someone else based on past experience; a positive person will give everyone the benefit of the doubt, at least until proven wrong.

Take on a new perspective. Say you're about to say something about Nancy to your friend. If Nancy was in the room, would you still say it?

That's a challenging question. If I evaluated everything I said using that perspective, there's probably a lot of things I wouldn't say. But this is another factor in being a positive person. If you will take on this high standard and strive to be positive about people who aren't present, you will go a long way towards being trustworthy. You won't have anyone worrying about what you say about them when they're not in the room.

If a conversation comes up in which other people are saying negative things about Nancy, say something really positive. Knock their socks off and end the conversation. At the very least, it'll give them something to think about.

Don't take yourself too seriously. This is a pretty obvious one, but it still bears repeating. If you cannot try new things, and if you cannot laugh at yourself, your blunders, and unpleasant situations that you find yourself in, you need to lighten up. This is a huge aspect of a positive person. The negative person cannot see the humor in the fuel light being on in the car, tripping up the stairs in front of several people, getting temporarily stuck in a ditch, looking like a total idiot whilst trying a new game or dance, or accidentally dropping something in a quiet place - and boy, do they miss out on the fun.

Find ways to sparkle. 1 John 4:12 says, "No one has ever seen God; but if we love on another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us." The truly positive person takes positive thoughts and positive words and turns them into positive actions. One way to sparkle in other people's lives is through habitual "random" acts of kindness. Some of these might include baking cupcakes for one of your classes at school, making dinner for your family, donating old clothes and/or money to a charity, calling an old friend, leaving a card/balloons/flowers for a friend who's having a bad day, or helping an elderly neighbor with yard work. (More ideas can be found by Googling "random acts of kindness".) Try to meet people's needs in a practical way. Show love to people in personal ways. Serving others is the ultimate sign of a positive person.

Of course, there will be horrible, no-good, very bad days when absolutely nothing goes your way and you feel like screaming and tearing your hair out. There are times when it gets extremely difficult to be positive. On those occasions, either choose to be alone or to go to another positive person for relief. If you must vent, preferably do so in a journal. If you must vent out loud, be careful you don't say things you'll regret later.

Being a positive person is a choice. A lot of life has to do with your attitude, so strive for a positive one. Love on people in big ways and small ways, in life-changing ways and thought-provoking ways. And don't settle for being negative - anyone can do that. Stand out and be positive. It really will make a difference.

Another Novel Excerpt

2009-09-16T19:39:00.000-07:00

This is a later scene from the novel I started

last November. Enjoy. :)

The atrium was virtually deserted once more, save for the few apprentices who still lingered in various corners. Tyatsai slowly slid down the wall until she was sitting on the cold floor and staring at the corridor that led to the dining hall. It wasn’t fair, she thought fiercely. It wasn’t fair to have to accept that only some people had the option to make something of themselves, while everyone else could only watch and wait for their chance at their most basic rights. Who made those rules? Who said it had to be that way?

Now came the sound of chairs scraping back from tables, footsteps and voices growing louder. A steady stream of officers began to exit the dining hall, heading to their quarters or going out into the courtyard for a smoke. Still Tyatsai sat there, unwilling to move, waiting for she didn’t know what, staring at the floor.

Lone footsteps echoed off the stones, walking in her direction and sounding unsettlingly familiar. Now was not the time for any kind of encounter. She felt that if anyone spoke so much as a word to her, she might very well explode.

“You look alone,” said Enthon.

“You’re perceptive,” Tyatsai said, only half-sarcastically. Somehow, it was all the derision she could manage to summon. The fire inside was no longer burning quite as powerfully as it had been only a minute ago.

She could almost feel Enthon studying her, trying to determine what kind of mood she was in. She considered telling him it was pointless; she herself was suddenly feeling confused.

“Something’s wrong again,” he said finally.

“What kind of thing?” Tyatsai said, playing absently with one of the laces one her shoe in order to appear occupied and avoid having to meet his gaze.

“You’re angry with me, aren’t you?”

Well, yes. She was. But somehow she couldn’t exactly remember why.

Three or four slaves came in from the courtyard, whispering amongst themselves, and came to an abrupt stop when they saw Enthon. Tyatsai looked up and saw that they were some of the new ones. Immediately she remembered what had caused her to start burning again. The slaves’ expressions were part uncertainty, part inexperienced fear, and for a moment they stood frozen, not sure what to do.

“Have you been showed where to go?” Enthon asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence, his voice mild. “Where you’ll be sleeping?”

“No,” one of them replied timidly, and hastily added, “sir.”

“It’s just down this hallway – there are plenty of empty rooms. Take whichever ones you want.”

“Any of them?”

“Yes,” Enthon said, “one to a room, unless you’re married.”

The slaves exchanged surprised looks. “Thank you,” the only man in the little group said, and they made their way in the direction he had pointed out, chancing curious glances back at him as they went.

“Is that what you were celebrating?” Tyatsai said quietly, watching them go. “Is that why you had that nice little banquet?”

Enthon said nothing until the new slaves had disappeared into the corridor. “You are angry with me.”

“I don’t know why I should be,” Tyatsai said, standing up. “I ought to be used to it by now.” She turned to leave, but was stopped by his voice.

“Where are you going?”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Tyatsai said, turning back around to face him. “Hadn’t you dismissed me yet?”

“Tyatsai,” he said firmly. She looked down, her cheeks suddenly flushed. “Is it at all possible for you to look at me as a human too? Or are you always going to treat me as if I think I’m so much better than you?” He sounded almost as angry as she had felt earlier. “You act as if you know me, but you don’t,” he continued. “We’re not all the same.”

“But you all do the same things, don’t you?” she said in a low voice.

“You think this was my idea?” he asked. “I really have very little power over most of what goes on here. All of these plans were in place far before I ever showed up.”

“Why are you telling me that?”

“Because, for some reason, I feel like I owe you and everyone else an explanation.”

She looked up at him. “You never thought you owed us anything before,” she said sullenly.

“Look,” he said, exasperation in his tone, “I have to follow orders too, you know.”

“But some things are worth resisting if they’re wrong,” she said. “Aren’t they?”

He was silent for a few seconds. “Like me?” he said quietly.

Pictures of Ohio and Random Things

2009-07-22T13:51:00.001-07:00

I spent July 9th-13th visiting my pen pal, Amy, whom I had never met before, at her house in Ohio. We had a fantastic time playing games, drinking tea, eating amazing homemade pumpkin pie (and cookies. lots of cookies), watching movies, and talking about various interesting subjects. It was a very fun and new experience, made even more so by the fact that this was my first time flying alone. I ran into no snags at all until I went through security in the Cleveland airport on my way home. They hand-searched my carry-on and found a pocketknife that I had totally forgotten was in there, and gave me several options as to what to do with it; in the end, I told them to just toss it. But what I found amazing at best and scary at worst was that they did not catch a pocketknife in a carry-on in the Baltimore airport...?

I took over 100 pictures and thought I would post a few of them for your enjoyment. :) All of these were taken at the Kingwood Center, a mansion with extensive outdoor gardens, greenhouses, and wandering peacocks.

The mansion

A fire hydrant that amused me...

One of two peacocks we saw

I wonder what the occasion for naming this one was...?

A wreath made out of cacti -cool or what?

I love these titles...

Inside the mansion

A late-evening snack on the my last night. Amy got kiwis especially for me, since she knows they're my favorite fruit. It made me very happy. :)

Amy's Venus Flytrap, otherwise known as Maggie.

A sunset outside the Fabers' house.

My favorite chair at the Fabers' house. :)

A picture Lindsey took while we were hiking at a forest park in Virginia:

A picture I took of one of my fellow Ravelians, at our dress rehearsal for "Beatlemania":

My collection of unusual erasers. There are over thirty of them and they include flowers, stars, rainbows, golden retrievers, parrots, penguins, carrots, purple pointe shoes, elephants, turtles, bears, tigers, butterflies...etc. Six of them are from Japan. (No, I am not normal.)

Photo Survey

2009-07-08T07:42:00.000-07:00

This is a fun survey that I first did several years ago. For each category, answer with a picture found on Google Images. Enjoy!

1. Where You Live

2. Favorite color

3. Where are you going on vacation next?

4. What shoes do you wear the most?

5. Favorite TV show?

6. Where do you go to school?

7. Favorite Movie (this is only one of them - I have many)

8. Where do you shop the most? (I don't think I shop one place any more than another, so here's one of them)

9. What kind of cell phone do you have?

10. Favorite food? (I have too many.)

11. Favorite drink? (among others)

12. What type of pets do you have?

13. Favorite restaurant

14. Favorite band/group/singer (I have too many. Here's one of them.)

15. Something that can always be found in your purse/bag?

16. Favorite actors (ok, so I have a lot...)

17. Favorite actress

Life and All Its Intricacies

2009-06-12T14:27:00.000-07:00

I began to compile my bucket list (a list of goals to accomplish before one kicks the bucket) a little over a year ago. I now have a folder in my room entitled "The Bucket Files", which currently holds my bucket list, results of a career test I took, my checklist for what I want my future husband to be like, college paraphenalia, and other future-related items. In addition to the Bucket Files, I also have a list of all the countries I want to visit, a list of future ambitions (potential career paths which are not found on my bucket list), and various other lists lying around my house in several of my many notebooks.

My problem is that I just want to do too much. I am way too ambitious for myself; every time I write a to-do list, thinking "Hey, this will be easy to finish!", I usually find that it takes me most of the day just to check off one of the items. Am I slow? Probably, and I often underestimate the amount of time needed to complete certain tasks. Take yesterday, for example. I had compiled myself a nice to-do list of things related both to school stuff I needed to take care of, and to extracurricular activities. I thought, sure, I can read two chapters of history, write a paragraph on Pericles' funeral oration, catch up on some math, write a letter, start my art homework, and write two emails in roughly ten hours - no problem! Ha. As it turned out, I managed to read one chapter of history and start on the Pericles paragraph, and due to family events (like dinner...) and an errand, that was it. You think that's bad? Wait till you see the plans I have for my life.

Currently, my bucket list is composed of the following:

Become fluent in three languages. (Yes, English counts as one of them.)
Learn to play the violin.
Step foot in every country of the world. (Totally crazy, I know, but notice I need only step foot in every country - not necessarily spend any time there.)
Spend 1 week in every continent.
Travel into space. (As an ignorant passenger, not an astronaut.)
Hug an orphan.
Go skydiving. (If you want to come with us, let Lindsey or I know.)
Go bungee jumping. (Whose idea was this...?)
Sing in front of 1,000 people.
Publish a novel.
Travel to all 50 states. (Lindsey and I are planning an epic road trip in the summer of 2012. Again, let us know if you want to meet us at Disneyland.)
Be able to do 32 fouettes flawlessly on pointe. (Darn, I forgot about this one...)
Watch at least one Olympic event live.

And, of course, I'll probably keep adding things to the list. Notice that none of this has even begun to touch on marriage, family, or career. I did mention I was crazy, right?

So, for the most part, those are just my fun ambitions in life. But the other day I got thinking about what I want to remembered for. It didn't take too long for the light bulb to go on. I am such an optimistic idealist, and therefore pessimists totally escape my understanding. I love life and I believe that God has given me the ability to see beauty in the world, even in the midst of apparent hopelessness. So I thought, if even one person could tell me that I opened their eyes and helped them see the possibilities of life and all the beauty that's to be found in the world if we only look around - I think I would be satisfied.

Lastly, partly inspired by the devotional "Pure" by Rebecca St. James, I wrote my life mission statement in February: "With everything I am, for every day from now on, I want to use everything I have to glorify everything He is."

I don't want to look back at my life and regret not doing enough. And then again, is it even possible to do too much in your life? Is it possible to have too much fun or to love on other people too much? I don't think so. Nor do I intend to live like it is.

Four Lessons Learned About Happiness from Being Cinderella

2009-05-31T10:41:00.000-07:00

1. Successfully improving at something is far more satisfying than already being great at it. For the first couple of months of rehearsals, I had to really work on being softer and more gentle when I danced. According to my dance teacher, I looked too strong to come across as a vulnerable character like Cinderella. It's funny, because I had thought that acting the character would be easy for me, but it took me a long time to really get into it. But in retrospect, I'm glad that I didn't have everything down and perfect right from the start. It was much more fulfilling to be told that I was finally softening up and starting to feel the part.

2. Invest in the people you're with. Building them up will build you up. This year, I got to partner a great, perpetually cheerful guy, and I got to spend a lot of time with all my crazy, amazing friends at dance. The whole production wouldn't have been half as much fun if it hadn't been for the people I was with. We all laughed together and encouraged each other about our various dances, which really helped to ease any tension there might have been and to make the environment more pleasant. While we're all here because of our common interest in dance, if we had only focused on dance and ignored each other, we would have missed out on the whole point.

3. Do what you love and love what you do. Do the things you enjoy and the things which make you find fun and meaning in life. And if you find yourself doing something you do not like, find something to like about it. There's always a bright spot, even if it takes a while to find it. As Night at the Museum 2 would have it, the key to happiness is doing what you love, with the people you love.

4. Smiling makes everything easier. And a lot less awkward. And a whole lot more fun.

One of My Favorite Places in the World

2009-05-10T18:22:00.000-07:00

In March, my parents went up to New York to pack up my grandparents' house after they both moved into nursing homes. I stayed at the home of one of my closest friends for the week, which was a very fun experience. I, being a homeschooler, did school while my friend went to high school, and I kept her company in the evenings while she did homework. Her mom (who fed me very well) and I talked about various things throughout the day. I loved being at their bright, cheerful, eclectic house, which I tell them how much I like every time I go over. Here are a few pictures so you can get a feel for it.

The living room, with a few of its decorations (above and below).

A display in the basement. My friend's mom painted the picture. Check out her website, www.katerinasdesigns.com.

My friend loves cats, hence the awesome painting of tiger eyes in her room.

Again, the living room.

FREEDOM

2009-05-03T11:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I unsubscribed from the Official SAT Question of the Day emails, and it was one of the best feelings in the world. After two weeks of preparation and a week of taking practice tests every day, I am done with all things related to College Board - at least until next year's PSAT. I am left with approximately 45 days of school to cram into 11 days, before I start summer classes at the local community college - but nevertheless, no longer having to worry about the SAT is great.

I rolled out of bed around 6:45 yesterday morning and entered the cafeteria of the high school about an hour later. Being homeschooled, I have to say that being in the cafeteria was a weird experience. I don't think I've ever been surrounded by so many high schoolers before. I didn't know anyone and consequently felt rather lost, until we were all separated into our various rooms. Three hours and forty-five minutes later, I think I would have screamed if I had seen another critical reading section. But overall, it could have been a lot worse. I loved the sentence in which you were supposed to find the grammatical error that began with, "The loyalty of British families to certain brands of toothpaste..."

Anyway, after having taken five practice tests and attempting to write halfway decent essays for them, I thought I might post a few of said attempts. Here's the first one:

Assignment: Do we need other people in order to understand ourselves?

We are all human. That means that we are all essentially in the same boat. We have all laughed and cried, had good times and experienced tragedy. While our experiences, goals, tastes, and circumstances may be different, underneath we're really very similiar, and there are many ways we can learn from each other.

Can you count the times you've gone to other people for advice on how to deal with a certain situation? Most likely, you chose someone with experience in that situation. Before taking this test, I talked to several people who have taken the SAT to find out how they felt about it. I often talk to my parents or sister when I need advice in various areas of my life. Whenever I do something new, chances are high that I know someone who has already been through it. In this way, we can learn from each other.

Another way in which other people can influence us, whether consciously or not, is through the way they react to things. My best friend is an amazing listener and a peacemaker, and I've learned a lot by just observing her. My godmother is almost perpetually cheerful and possesses the desirable quality of being able to smile through any circumstance because of her knowledge and firm belief that God is in control. We can look around us and see characteristics we want to be known for personified in others, and then apply those qualities to our own lives.

Finally, we can learn from the way other people percieve the world and its possibilities. The pessimist can look at the optimist and realize that he needs to lighten up; the optimist can get a good dose of reality from the pessimist. The organized can teach the unorganized a few lessons, and, in return, can learn that a little mess is okay here and there. We can help each other out and open each other's eyes by sharing our personal perspectives on life.

We have a lot to learn from other people, if we would take the time to do so. We need each other not only to understand ourselves, but also to understand the big picture and the wonderful, crazy world we live in.

Have You Ever Wondered...

2009-04-24T19:10:00.000-07:00

Do you find it difficult to classify yourself? Is it hard for you to determine if your main interest lies in the realm of math and science, or in the world of art and literature? Wonder no longer. Take the following simple quiz to determine where your loyalties lie.

What is the image above meant to portray?
a. A computer memory circuit.
b. An abstract coloring page.

{If you answered a, you are a math/science person. If you answered b, you are a very unscientific artist, and you are my type of person.}

Just for the record...the correct answer is A. But we artists are happy with our own portrayal, right? ;-)

Dancing to My Own Beat

2009-04-03T16:42:00.000-07:00

(Another result of a writing prompt.)

It was Halloween night, around 10:30. The double doors swung inward with a bang, and in stepped what looked like Carabosse herself, in all her tawdry finery and gaudy makeup. A hush fell over the crowded ballroom as the glamorous newcomer stepped down four steps and onto the dance floor. She wore a smirk and looked straight ahead as she made her way across the room. She came to a halt next to the preps, who were all dressed up as Cinderellas or Rapunzels, and stood looking around at the rest of the frivolity.

The music started playing again and the buzz of conversation grew in volume. I casually made my way over to the punch bowl, where I was within earshot of the preps and the new arrival.

"Way to look like a goth, sweetheart," one of them was saying to Carabosse. "You don't exactly fit in with us."

"I'm trying something new, genius," Carabosse said, shifting her weight to the other side and flipping her long, dyed-black hair over her shoulder. "Different can be good."

"Different like evil? Come on."

"All right, cookie cutter Cinderella, let's see how many dances you get!"

Cinderella smiled her sweetest smile. "It's on," she said.

This was too interesting. I stayed by the punch bowl, looking nonchalantly around, keeping my ears tuned in to the preps' conversation. Ten minutes, then twenty, passed, in which I consumed three more glasses of punch than was really necessary. Finally, one of the geeks broke from his group and nervously approached Carabosse, egged on from behind by his equally geekish companions. "Since you seem to be without a partner," he began awkwardly, "would you -"

"Uh," she interrupted, holding up one of her bejeweled hands, "thanks, but no thanks." The rest of the preps dissolved into snorting laughter as the geek abruptly turned on his heel and acted as if he had been going to get a drink all along.

"Thanks for your support," Carabosse snapped at the preps.

"What kind of partner do you expect to get when you look like the wicked witch of the west?" Cinderella simpered, sipping daintily from her glass of punch.

"Well, I don't see guys lining up in front of you."

I finally sat down, tired of their pointless conversation and way too full of punch. I sighed and checked the clock; it was 11:03. The party had started three hours ago and I hadn't been asked for a single dance yet. I glanced down at my cocktail-length dress, which was made from pure white satin and accessorized with cubic zirconia jewelry. It was simple, but elegant. Or so I had thought before I saw all the other elaborate costumes the different cliques had concocted. The preps were all dressed as fairy tale characters. The athletes had reluctantly agreed to put on dresses,, all in bright shades of orange and red. The goths were in black. At least the cheerleaders were covered. The geeks were...the geeks. And then there was me.

I had never really belonged to any group. I had always tried to make my own statements and start my own trends, but being myself had never earned me much popularity. The most notice I ever got at school was a brief smile in the hallway, usually from one of the other noncomformists. But we never really associated with each other. I guess we were always too busy being different to notice that there actually were people out there who were like us.

"Excuse me," said a voice. I looked up. It was one of the - hold on. Which group did he belong to?

"Would you like to dance?" he asked. "I noticed that you weren't really talking to anyone. We might be about the only two people here without a clique."

"Well," I said, taking the hand he offered and standing up, "maybe we should start our own."

As we walked onto the dance floor, I couldn't help smiling to myself. Maybe being different had its merits. After all, Cinderella and Carabosse were still standing on the sidelines, watching as the music changed and my partner and I began to dance.

Someone Else's Love Story

2009-04-01T11:44:00.000-07:00

(Background: this is the result of a writing prompt. Therefore, it is a rough draft and kind of weird. Enjoy. =D)

Falling in love was the first mistake I made.

At the time, it had seemed like a sensible idea. After all, I was fresh out of college and had my whole life in front of me, and my inquisitive relatives always wanted to know who that "special someone" was for me. It didn't take me long to get tired of their constant questioning and speculating as to who that lucky guy would be. So I went out into the world with the intention of finding that guy and giving him some of that well-deserved luck.

I found him, all right - all gorgeous twenty-six years of him. But sometimes I still wonder if I was ever really in love with him. It felt like it, but I was always on such an emotional roller coaster that I never quite knew what I really thought of anything. But he was exactly the type of guy that all my inquisitive relatives had always dreamed about, so I claimed him before any other girl had a chance. I guess I should have brushed up on my cliches first. Maybe I would have remembered that haste makes waste.

Well, here we are, six years later. I'm standing next to the grave of my ex-fiance, barely noticing the drops of rain that run down my face in the absence of the tears I would have shed. The rain is turning the dirt I'm standing on into thick mud, and my shoes are going to be ruined. But I don't care. I inhale slowly and deeply and take a look around the cemetery. Even the trees are dead and lifeless. How did it come to this? Why did I ever believe all of those fairy tale stories about how love was supposed to be? Snow White and Cinderella must have been liars, or idealists, or both. Life never happened that way for me.

My relatives were wrong. My love story cooled down fast and died way before its time. If I've learned anything, it's that life is too short to waste it on trying to live up to anyone else's expectations. Next time I ought to pay more attention to what I want and not try to live out my great-aunt's ideal romance. If I had done that the first time, maybe he and I would never have had that last argument that left us both distraught. Maybe he never would have run that red light if he had been thinking clearly. Maybe he would still be alive and able to make another girl's dream come true. He never fulfilled mine, but I couldn't hate him no matter how hard I had tried. And now it was all over and done with.

Now the tears are coming. I close my eyes to try to shield them, but it doesn't work. They fall anyway, mixing with the raindrops that soak the stone cross at the head of the grave.

Decisions, Decisions

2009-03-22T18:49:00.000-07:00

Decisions are a huge part of our lives. Every day, every hour, every few minutes, you make some kind of decision. What should I wear today? Should I go out with this guy? To sleep or not to sleep? Can I afford this? Should I take a walk or eat chocolate instead? Should I really watch this? Do I have time for this? Where should I go to college? Who should I hang out with? What's really important to me?

Obviously, some decisions are more important than others. Decisions are easy for some people and excruciatingly hard for others. Take the following, totally unscientific mini quiz to decide what kind of decision-maker you are:

1. You're standing in Baskin Robbins, gazing down at the 31 flavors of ice cream. What do you do?
A. Immediately pick the first flavor that looks good.
B. Look at all the flavors, eliminate all but two, and pick one of them after 2-3 minutes.
C. Ask the cashier what flavor they would pick and go with their advice.
D. You've been staring at this question for ten minutes and still haven't decided what you would do.

If you chose answer...
A...you are a spontaneous and often impulsive decision-maker.
B...you make decisions fairly quickly, but you think it over before you act.
C...you prefer other people to make decisions for you.
D...you are entirely and hopelessly indecisive. Get help.

Some people sweat the little decisions and others can make major decisions in the blink of an eye. What's the difference between the two types of decision-makers? The latter is too impulsive, and the former isn't impulsive enough. So here are a couple of things that came to mind in regards to decisions.

Be you... Don't make decisions on what to wear, what to eat, how to act around certain people - the small, everyday stuff - based on anyone else's opinion. Don't follow trends - make your own! Can't decide what to wear? Combine a bunch of your stuff (layer shirts, add accessories or fun shoes, wear a skirt over leggings or jeans) to create a totally unique look. You crave ice cream, but everyone else is eating salad? Go for the ice cream. (But be sparing.) All the other peeps in your school/youth group/club/activity are being total jerks? Stand out and be yourself.

...but don't be afraid to ask for advice. Especially on major decisions (college, future spouses, etc.), it's usually a good idea to talk to other people and find out what their opinions are. If you really can't decide what ice cream flavor to pick, it's ok to ask the cashier or your buddy what you should do. Sometime's it's fun to take a risk and sample what other people like (even if the only benefit is that you discover that they're every bit as weird as you thought they were after all!). You might discover a new interest or favorite thing by branching out a bit.

Spontaneity can be fun, but...Some decisions ought not to be thought about too hard. For example, last year when we were in Portugal, we had the opportunity to climb about 40 feet of rock on a windy day. Had I hesitated any longer than I did, I might very well have said no. But that climb (whilst wearing flip flops, no less) was one of the most exhilarating things I have ever experienced, and I am so glad I didn't think about it too hard, or let any annoying distraction such as logic or common sense fill my mind. (Disclaimer: blog author is not responsible for death, injuries, or irritation resulting from mindless or stupid applications of the above reasoning to other situations.) But on the big decisions, spontaneity is usually a bad idea. Harder decisions require more thinking (our favorite thing to do, of course), but making the right choice is worth taking the extra time to think it through.

And definitely pray. There are a lot of tough decisions we all have to make every day, and we'll never have the strength or wisdom to make all the right choices by ourselves. Inevitably, you'll find that your parents' knowledge, your friends' knowledge, and your knowledge aren't adequate to making the hard decisions. There's only One who can see all the possible outcomes from your decisions and help you make the right one. All it requires is asking Him for His guidance and then following through, however uncomfortable the right choice is.

Good luck on making all your decisions, big or small, easy or hard. And in case you were wondering, my answer to the quiz would be B. I'm happy being me right in the middle of the decision-making scale.

Inspiration

2009-03-17T16:48:00.000-07:00

"I learned…that inspiration does not come like a bolt, nor is it kinetic, energetic striving, but it comes into us slowly and quietlyand all the time, though we must regularly and every day give it a little chance to start flowing, prime it with a little solitude and idleness."- Brenda Ueland

I am one of those people who finds inspiration everywhere. I'm not always inspired to do something; sometimes inspiration just makes me feel everything more acutely. Inspiration is often how I get my best story ideas. I'll never forget one summer night a few years ago when my family was sitting on our back porch. It was a relatively humid night with a slight breeze. Everything was dark except for the candle on the wicker coffee table. Every so often, the flame would flicker violently in the breeze, but it never went out. For some reason, that was one of the most inspiring things I've ever seen. It got me thinking how sometimes real life is like that. If you really know what you believe in and why, any opposition you encounter in life is merely an obstacle meant for overcoming. The things that stand in your way might knock you around and get you down, but they can never put your flame out.

Random life lessons and story ideas are just some of the benefits to inspiration, at least in my opinion. And fortunately, I draw inspiration from absolutely everywhere:

The wind whipping through my hair on walks, especially on cold days.
Standing in the rain simply for the sake of getting wet.
The smell in the air before it snows.
How green everything is right after it rains.
Gorgeous, heart-wrenching music.
Sunrises, sunsets, late afternoons, and stormy skies
Bittersweet stories

Sweeping landscapes and vistas
Fearlessness
Fresh snow
City streets at night when all the lights are lit
Crisp, cold autumn days
Dew on the grass on early spring mornings
Love stories
Dancing barefoot (or in Dance Paws)
Designing practically anything
Long talks with friends
Sitting in Starbucks for long periods of time

I could go on and on. Those are just some of the places in which I find inspiration, and I am so glad I do. Life would be so much duller without that feeling I get when I'm really inspired.

A Heartfelt Tribute to My Amazing Sister

2009-03-08T20:37:00.000-07:00

My sister is at college. AGAIN. She had the nerve to go off to Erie, PA for the continuance of her education at the beginning of this year, you see. Hey, I was actually getting along much better than I thought I would without her. We're best friends and do pretty much everything together. Now that we're seven hours and 360 miles apart, we still keep in touch almost every day through phones, email, and IM (I love technology).

But I have to admit that there's really no substitute for the real thing.

She left today to go back to Erie after her week-and-a-half-long "spring" break. It was a very fun break and included six or seven inches of snow, ice cream cones from Baskin Robbins, 70-degree weather, a game night (and other celebrations of her birthday), smoothies from Robek's, chick flicks and action movies, donuts from Giant, a speech and debate tournament, late nights and a very early morning (5:30 a.m.), and randomly awesome games. But it was too short. I had forgotten how much I missed having her around just to talk to and do random fun stuff with. No one else is there for me all the time; no one else is just a question away from playing a game or watching a movie. No one else understands me like she does. Yeah, that sounds like a cliche, but it's true. She and I are (to borrow another cliche) like two peas in a pod - almost exactly the same interests and almost exactly the same reactions to various situations.

I thought I was getting along pretty well. Truth be told, I still have not had any kind of emotional breakdown or strong reaction to her being gone, not since August. But today, at the end of her third break so far this year, I felt it the most - and the reason is, quite simply put, that she's my older sister and that we always have an absolutely amazing time together.

What makes my sister so awesome? Here are a few of the ways:

1. She randomly bursts into song, usually without prior warning.
2. She can do killer rabbit and spider impressions.
3. Her hair always smells amazing.
4. You do not want to be on the recieving end of her wrath.
5. People who call her a quiet person are gravely mistaken.
6. She's able to knock some sense into me whenever I need it, and even if I haven't asked for it.
7. She makes me laugh approximately every 15-20 minutes.
8. She thinks I'm weird (and she's right), but she still likes hanging out with me.
9. She still enjoys participating in activities some people would call "childish". Who cares if it's childish?!
10. We used to get into ridiculous fights about Playmobil root beer floats, pitchers full of orange juice, whose turn it was to get the mail, and whether or not I should showcase my cursive handwriting on the front of a thank-you note (she thought not). But we're past that now.
11. She's very encouraging and supportive, especially about my cursive handwriting. *coughs lightly*
12. Her pouty face makes me melt.
13. She can laugh over minor calamities or awkward situations, a quality which a lot of people seem to sadly lack.
14. I can totally be myself with her and never have to worry about what she thinks. It's really ok. She already knows I'm nuts.
15. She has the prettiest hair in the world.
16. And overall, she's pretty darn gorgeous.
17. She's very mature. Most of the time.
18. She has a little more common sense than I do, so we balance each other out pretty efficiently.
19. She's brilliant. Most of the time. ;-)
20. She's the coolest person I know.

Basically, I am so insanely thankful that God chose to put the two of us into the same wacky family. I can guarantee that the two of us are always going to have a peanut butter-and-jelly-type relationship - we'll stick up for each other and stick together, always.

Only four and a half more weeks till Easter weekend. I suppose I can survive.

The Time Has Come, My Little Friends, to Speak of Other Things

2009-02-16T12:33:00.000-08:00

1. Truffles

I just discovered a fantastic recipe for homemade truffles, courtesy of Dorie Greenspan, the author of Baking: From My Home to Yours. I made them for my project club on Valentine's Day, and I'm not sure if anyone else was as big a fan as I was, but I really liked them. For others' benefit, I will post the recipe here:

1/3 cup heavy cream
6 oz. semi-sweet or bittersweet dark chocolate, very finely chopped or grated
2 tablespoons butter, very soft
Unsweetened cocoa powder

1. Bring the cream to a boil and pour it over the chocolate. Wait 1 minute, then whisk until the mixture is smooth and shiny. Whisk in the butter completely; cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or until firm.
2. Scoop out teaspoonfuls of chocolate, then squeeze and roll them between your palms to form cherry-sized balls - a messy job, but fun. (If the chocolate is too hard to shape, leave it on the counter for 20 minutes.)
3. Roll the truffles around in a bowl of cocoa, then toss them from hand to hand to shake off the excess. Cover and refrigerate until ready to eat.

This was my first attempt at making truffles and I was rather surprised at how well they turned out. The only thing I need to work on is making them look slightly more rounded and less lumpy, but I suppose practice makes perfect, right?

2. Striped Armwarmers

I have a relatively eccentric fashion sense, and therefore I am in love with a pair of striped armwarmers I recently acquired from Dancewear Solutions (http://www.dancewearsolutions.com/). They're very comfortable and kind of snazzy-looking. I consider them merely as an interesting fashion accessory; however, some of my friends are divided in their opinions over whether the armwarmers make me look like a jailbird or a zebra. I haven't yet decided which I would prefer to look like. (BTW - the P91 logo on the T-shirt in the picture above stands for Psalm 91.)

3. Biceps

I find myself actually somewhat proud of the fact that I have biceps, however insignificant they seem. According to my dad, that puts me in the minority of females. But since the only way I have biceps is from doing full-out push-ups, I suppose I ought to be proud of the results. (Of course, when one compares one's biceps with one's older brother's, one quickly feels very inadequate. Not the best way to build one's self-esteem.)

4. Colorful Socks

I'm a big fan of colorful socks. The only problem with them is that I wear mine so often that they quickly become holey. But I enjoy them while I can. :-) Above are my most recent acquiry, appropriately given to me on Valentine's Day.

These have traction hats on the bottom. Is that cool or what?!

All right. I've exhausted my supply of totally random subjects for the present. I suppose I ought to go and do something worthwhile now.

The Woes of Work (and they are few)

2009-02-13T13:51:00.000-08:00

"Good afternoon; Grace Covenant Church; how may I help you?"

I picked up the phone and said those words for the last time today. I can't say I was sorry that it was the last time. Wow, I thought, I no longer need to pretend like I actually know what I'm doing!

I have been employed for the last thirteen months at a local church, where I also attend youth group on Wednesday nights. This is not the church, however, that I attend on Sunday mornings, and therefore I am not hugely familiar with all that goes on there. Therefore, I don't always know exactly what to do for people who call, and occasionally end up sounding kind of stupid: "Um, I'm sorry, sir, but I am really not the person to ask about that...can I take a message for you?" Or, when I do get a message, I sometimes email my direct boss with the information and the apologetic, "I had absolutely no idea who this should go to..." One time a guy came into the church and asked if we had a copier. I replied somewhat proudly, "We do, but we don't have a policy for non-staff members to use it." I thought to myself, Aha - I know something! Turns out the poor guy just wanted to sell us a copier, not use the one we already have. Nice going, genius!

I felt stupid in other ways, too. I was so used to working in the afternoon that when I had to cover for the morning once or twice, I picked up the phone and began with "Good afternoon..."

There were two kinds of calls I absolutely loved. The first one was when I picked up the phone and an automated message warning us about potentially expiring credit cards or exploding bombs had already started playing. Click! Or the ones where I went through my whole authoritative speel of greeting, to be followed by a click on the other end. Hey, if you don't want to talk to me, I ain't complainin'!

But overall, work was great. I got paid to sit at the computer, check my email, do school, and answer the occasional phone call. Oh yeah - sometimes I actually had to work for my money - shredding papers, addressing and stamping postcards, assembling guest gift bags, and other fun stuff. But it wasn't too bad, and I definitely could have had worse jobs. I could earn the exact same salary during the sparse babysitting jobs, so I compared the two. Hmm...would I rather change the diapers of little screaming tots, or would I rather put inserts in CD cases? Well, let me think about this for a little while...

Nevertheless, today was my last day as a receptionist (read: largely unlearned person who sits at the front desk, smiles, and nods). No, I didn't lose my job, but I am transitioning from answering phones to doing all of the extra stuff I previously did - guest gift bags, new believers' toolboxes, assembling CD cases and boxes in which to mail travel mugs to guests, and so on. I keep my four-hours-a-week even if I sit there twiddling my thumbs for half the time. Did I mention that I love working at this church?

So today I bid a not-too-fond farewell to feeling incompetent over the phone. No more fumbling words, making dumb mistakes, or telling someone for the hundredth time, no, no one from this number called you in my [scant] knowledge. Today I move on to bigger and better things.

And now, bring me that horizon...

25 Random Things

2009-02-10T10:54:00.000-08:00

Due to recent emails from my Facebook-patronizing sister, recent comments by my Facebook-patronizing employer, and recent posts on blogs I follow, I have decided to post my 25 Random Things. Enjoy! (and please forgive my long silence...)

1. I never salt or pepper my food.
2. I am very partial to kiwis and would probably consider them my favorite fruit.
3. I had no idea that my sister wanted to be a lawyer until I read her 25 Random Things.
4. I have (briefly) considered careers in politics, journalism, and history.
5. My all-time favorite school subject was Algebra 1 and my two all-time least favorite school subjects were physical science and geometry.
7. I am going to name my next two parakeets Mario and Luigi.
8. Speaking of parakeets, mine (aptly named Kiwi) does not prefer me to be within a three foot radius of him.
9. I am very mildly allergic to mold, dust, white oak trees, shrimp, cat dander, and egg whites.
10. My sister is my best friend and her hair always smells amazing.
11. My Bible is hot pink and lime green and it also smells amazing.
12. My top four favorite actors, in no particular order, are Ben Barnes, Gerard Butler, George Clooney, and Ioan Gruffudd.
13. I have the funniest feeling that I already know the person I'm someday going to marry (and this feeling has absolutely no relationship whatsoever to random thing #12).
14. I am an easily inspired, usually cheerful, very unique goal-making multi-tasker who is great at planning, great at procrastinating, and dreadful at following through.
15. I recently made an attempt at color-coding my dreadfully unorganized bookshelf, to some measure of success.
16. I am dreadful at making summaries. When asked to summarize the plot of a book, movie, or ballet, I almost always have to apologize at the end for my abysmal explanation.
17. I have now had my learner's permit for a grand total of 11 days. w00t!
18. If I had enough time, I would gladly pursue almost any field related to the arts and make it a co-career of all the other fields. Needless to say, I am a very artsy person.
19. I believe that physics and geometry are the bane of all teenage existence, particularly because they serve no practical use whatsoever in everyday civilized life. I love the fact that I have completely forgotten everything I ever learned in geometry and that it won't matter at all.
20. I enjoy experimenting with cooking. In the future, I am hoping to invent tomato chicken noodle soup, followed by raspberry crumb pie with a cream cheese drizzle for dessert.
21. I love Gmail, polynomials, knitting, and roller coasters. I am also the only person in my family who actually enjoys Earl Grey tea.
22. I am rather eccentric. I have a four-month-old miniature pumpkin on my bookshelf (never mind that it's February), a dissected and cotton-stuffed banana in my old room, a huge collection of scrap paper in two of my drawers, and three or four boxes full of old letters and mementos that I may never read again.
23. Barnes & Noble is one of my favorite places to spend a few hours.
24. I am in love with almost everything Starbucks.
25. I will eat any dessert you set in front of me. So please, be sparing.

2009: The Year of Living Dangerously

2008-12-31T11:09:00.000-08:00

...otherwise known as the Year of Really Scary Birthdays. In my family, we have a 50th, a 25th, a 20th, and a 16th birthday looming this year. Add me starting community college and Lyn entering her second year of college, and one of the cousins on Mom's side getting married (the first of the eighteen of us to do so)...wow. Lots of changes.

So recently I was thinking about the dreaded NYR: New Year's resolutions. Last year, I made several, and managed to complete...a few...of them. I did read 30 books in 2008 and I did push-ups and sit-ups every day through the end of March (after that things grew a bit more sporadic, to say the least), but I failed miserably in several other aspects. In view of this, I decided that this year, instead of making resolutions for the whole year, that I would make mini challenges for myself each month. Each month will have a different focus: diet, exercise, dance, writing, reading, beauty's building blocks, doing hard things, habits, and cultivating interests. (I'm focusing on writing for three months and reading for two.) Each month has different "requirements" for me to fulfill...for example, I have to read eight books each month in March and September; peform one or two random acts of kindness every day for a week during February, for the focus on beauty's building blocks (which are compassion, contentment, consistency, and the Fruits of the Spirit); do a writing prompt and write 1,000 + words every day in April, August, and November for writing; walk 20 minutes every day and exercise in other ways four times a week during July for exercise (I can hardly wait for this one!), and so forth. I've always enjoyed one-month challenges such as the ones that Brio Magazine occasionally suggests, so this should fit me pretty well.

The only downside to this is that I an the type of person who is highly motivated to get a lot done, but will either get distracted easily or overestimate the amount of time I actually have. Therefore, I almost always end up getting much less done than I would have liked, and then berating myself relentlessly afterwards. Therefore, I am cautiously optimistic about everything I'm going to try to make myself do this year. So it really is my "year of living dangerously". Wish me luck! I'm definitely going to need it...

Once We Were

2008-12-31T10:49:00.000-08:00

We stand at the edge of the world
Where the oceans pound on the rocks
Where the water stretches endlessly
Where sand meets sea and sea meets sky
Once we were like the surf,
new and fresh all the time;
Like the sand on the shore,
plentiful beyond count,
Full of dreams that were limitless

Now we are like
a starfish missing its leg;
We lost it when we lost our
Imagination.

We stand here in the valley
Where the mountains stretch above
Where the flowers grow abundantly
Where the grass tries to touch the skies
Once we were like the sunflowers,
Rocketing skyward without bounds;
Like the peak of the highest hill,
believing we could fly,
Knowing we could achieve our goals

Now we are like
a dandelion without petals
We lost them when we lost our
Courage

We stand here in the forest
Where the trees offer shelter and canopy
Where the sun seeps through the branches
Where the moss carpets the ground
Once we were like the ants,
Never ceasing in our desires
To attain the height of dreams;
Like the animals that forage
And always find a way

Now we are like
a dead tree without branches
We lost them when we forgot how to
Dream

We stand here in the twilight
When the sun has sunk
When the lights are turned on inside
When the children come out to play
Once we played too,
Ignoring what the world thought;
Like a lighthouse in the darkness,
We were unique and new
And we were guides

Now we are like the dead of a night with no stars
We lost them when we forsook
What we believed in

Once it was spring;
there was new life,
New growth everywhere,
And anything was possible.
Once it was summer;
We were flourishing,
We were flying,
And nothing could bring us down.
And it was on the brink of autumn
That we made our choices
And we left summer behind,
Never to return.

Now we stand here in winter
When the shutters have been shut
When the snow is swiftly falling
In a new direction.
Once we were like the clouds,
Always releasing new energy
And new ideas;
We were ready to make a difference.

Now we are like
A snowflake that blends in with the rest
We failed when we lost our
Passion
We lost our strength and our drive
We are just another at the brink of eternity,
Falling swiftly towards the snow-laden ground.

We still have a choice
Once we were new; now we are old
And we have lost many things
But one thing remains:
The memory of what we once were.
Will we grasp it again?
The ground is swiftly approaching.

Just Because...

2008-11-30T23:46:00.000-08:00

After all these relatively serious posts, I guess it's time for some humor. So here we go:

Did anyone bother to proofread this ad...?

"Call your doctor right away if after taking LUNESTA you walk, drive, eat, or engage in other activities WHILE ASLEEP." {emphasis added}

So yes, I do tend to make journal entries late at night...

"Thanks to Maria's $20, I discovered that eating 3 and a half donut and 2 ginger snaps will inevitably lead to a headache and stomachache. Amen."

"I knitted, embroidered a square, and cross-stitching. Um, that was quite a sentence."

"Plus my skate guards, one of them broke. Another amazing feat of grammar."

"Though this journal harbors a lot of emotions and feelings...*builds up to some eloquent proclamation*...I must confess that all its ribbons have been pretty darn annoying."

25,682 Words

2008-11-30T21:04:00.000-08:00

Nope, didn't make it in time. But, miraculously, I have not been beating myself over the head for it - on the contrary, I'm quite happy that I, one, managed to write 23,000 more words than last attempt; two, got a little more than halfway through; and three, that I wrote 25,000 words in a month (I have NEVER done that before). So, all in all, a very satisfying experience...I'm definitely going to try again next year, though if I've learned anything, it's that having a laptop is very, very, very conducive to getting more writing in.

Not that anyone cares. So I'll be quiet now, and proudly resort to displaying my badge *grins cheekily*.

NaNoWriMo 08 - Excerpt #1

2008-11-23T14:58:00.000-08:00

I'm over 17,000 words now...that might sound impressive, but it's not comforting when you consider the fact that to make it to 50,000 words in November, I have approximately 33,000 words to write in a week. *gasps and chokes* BUT anyway...here's the first excerpt, and keep in mind that this is a very rough draft. Through this whole NaNoWrimo thing, I have finally learned how to vanquish the inner editor - that little guy who looks over your shoulder, reads what you've written, and laughs.

So...without him hanging around...here's a bit of what I have so far. Enjoy and comment! :-D

“What are you doing here?” the kitchen supervisor asked her the next morning, in a tone of some genuine surprise.

Tyatsai stopped dead and wondered for a moment if she was still dreaming.

“Didn’t they tell you?” asked the supervisor, waving a few more slaves in.

“Tell me what?” Tyatsai said, truly bewildered.

“You’ve been transferred to the laundry, as of this morning,” the supervisor said. “I would’ve thought they would have told you last evening.”

“I had no idea,” she said, her shock audible. Transferred? “Where – where do I go?”

“Two hallways over to the left,” said the supervisor, and turned to the next slave.

Tyatsai turned away and walked slowly in the direction the supervisor had pointed out, now certain she was still in some sort of nightmare. Steam billowed out of the open doorway and a thick scent of animal lard permeated the air. She made slow progress into the room, her mind still reeling and her feet not fully willing to keep going.

The laundry was huge, at least twice the size of the kitchen. Along the right side were large vats of hot water, the source of most of the steam; shelves stacked with round brushes, cakes of soap, bolts of folded linen, and flat irons lined the left side. Another, smaller courtyard was visible through the door in the back of the room, as were the lines of drying laundry stretched across the landscape. At least fifty slaves had crowded into the room, forming exceptionally straight lines beside the vats or the shelves, and all of them were eerily silent.

The supervisor was making slow progress along one of the lines, looking each slave over once or twice, as Tyatsai stepped slowly into the room. Only the supervisor, a stocky man who was barely Tyatsai’s height, looked up at her awkward entrance. “And you are?” he said, his words echoing around the room.

“Tyatsai Falcons,” she said.

“Oh,” he said, sniffing disinterestedly. “Yes, they told me you were being transferred here. Line up with the rest, along this side. Yes, right there.”

Tyatsai followed the other slaves’ lead and stood almost unnaturally straight, keeping her head facing forward and her arms at her sides. Though their heads didn’t move, a few of the slaves chanced curious glances at her, so she did the same.

The supervisor continued down the line until he reached the slave next to her. He examined him for several long moments, but found nothing out of place and sniffed in a disappointed manner as he moved on to Tyatsai. She tensed immediately as his eyes moved up and down her, focusing particularly on her hair, which she sheepishly remembered that she had done nothing with that morning.

“Hair,” he pointed out, “needs to be neater. Hands need to be cleaner.” He took one last look, then sniffed and turned away. He stood in view of both lines and magnified his voice slightly as he said, “This line to the vats. Half of this line, collect the hanging laundry and fold it. The other half – go and collect the laundry from the officers and the apprentices in the east wing.”

The slaves scattered and immediately began talking amongst themselves. Tyatsai found herself shepherded back out through the laundry doors and down the hallway with the half of the line that had been assigned to collect the soiled laundry, a group of fourteen.

As they walked, Tyatsai noticed that the rest of them seemed to semiconsciously divide themselves into smaller groups that chatted amongst themselves. After a few seconds, only she and a boy no more than eleven were the only ones left without a group. She turned and looked down at him and he looked up at her and gave her a charming smile, one she thought would easily woo his future female when he came to the right age.

“Where did you used to work?” he asked, in a voice deeper than it seemed he should have at his age.

“In the kitchen,” Tyatsai replied.

“Why did you get transferred?”

“I have no idea, honestly,” she said, smiling just slightly at the expression of genuine puzzlement on his face.

“And your name is Tyatsai?” When she assented, his eyes widened a little, and he dropped his voice to a whisper. “You tried to escape, didn’t you?”

His innocent question served to effectively wipe the smile off her face. “Oh,” she said drily, “you heard about that.”

“Well, of course,” he said indignantly. “Everyone heard about it. All of the slaves, I mean.”

“Doesn’t it happen often enough?”

His eyes widened again and he shook his head. “I don’t think anyone’s tried in two or three years,” he said, staring up at her in seeming awe of both her bravery and her ignorance.

“You’re joking,” she said, staring back down at him.

“No, I’m not.”

She opened her mouth to reply, but they had reached the east wing corridor, lined on either side with apprentice dormitories, all empty for the day. Tyatsai and the boy followed the rest of the group into one of the dormitories, which had been crowded with as many bunk beds as would possibly fit, all of which were piled with the apprentices’ luggage and other personal belongings. An oversized, overflowing laundry hamper had been squeezed into the extra few feet next to the door. The stench of sweat was nearly overpowering as two of the slaves lifted the hamper and headed back in the direction of the atrium.

None of the other dormitories were any different. All of the slaves came back for second and some for third trips between the laundry before the east wing was laundry-free. Then they moved on to the south wing and the officers’ quarters, each one of which was the same size as a dormitory. But these were furnished instead with four beds and two wardrobes, and a much less crowded laundry hamper.

It took another half an hour to empty the south wing, and when they got back to the laundry, they were assigned to hang up the clean laundry coming out of the steaming vats.

Tyatsai and the boy each grabbed an armload of laundry and headed out into the courtyard, which was empty of all but the group of fourteen. Lines had already been strung in webs and mazes across the courtyard, and each one was dotted with dozens of crude clothespins.

“I’m Norek, by the way,” said the boy as he hung a pair of white trousers on one of the lines.

“How long have you been here?”

“I’ve been at Gavendal for…” The boy squinted into the sun as he thought. “I’ve been here about seven months, I think.” He looked back at her innocently. “And how long have you been here?”

“A little over a month,” she said. “But I’ve been a slave for about twelve years.”

Norek’s eyes widened again, evoking an unexpected laugh from Tyatsai. “What’s funny?” he demanded.

“Nothing,” she said, turning back to the pile of laundry at her feet.

“I don’t think being a slave that long is funny,” he said seriously.

“Well, it’s not.”

“Is that why you tried to escape?”

She glanced sideways at him and he smiled sheepishly.

“I’ve only been a slave for seven months,” he said. “I’ve been at the laundry the whole time. It’s not so bad, really.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Well, it’s not as dull as being in the kitchen, I’ll give you that,” she said.

“What did you do in the kitchen?”

“Scrub floors, wash dishes,” she said, and laughed as he wrinkled his nose in distaste. “And only one person talked to me, and – uh – we didn’t really get along.”

Norek smiled at her. “Well,” he said, in a tone meant to assure that everything was now taken care of, “you have me to talk to now.”

Tyatsai smiled as she hung a shirt on the line.

“I heard something else about you, too,” Norek said after a moment.

“Did you?”

“I heard that you talked back to Enthon at one of the banquets.”

Tyatsai felt her mood darken again. “Two of them, actually,” she said, jerking another shirt from the pile. She was sure his eyes widened at her defiance.

“I think you’re brave,” he said. When she turned around, she found him gazing up at her with deep admiration in his eyes.

“You’re very nice to say so.”

“But it’s true,” he protested.

“Brave and foolish,” she muttered to herself, and to him said, “Maybe so”, and forced another smile.

“My parents were brave like that too,” he said, staring at something beyond the courtyard’s walls. “They never liked being here.”

Tyatsai tried in vain to make out the meaning behind the expression on his face. “Were?” she repeated softly.

“Well, they died a few months after we were brought here,” he said, but there were no tears in his eyes, just deep-seated grief. “But they died because they didn’t let themselves be told what to do.”

They were both silent for a moment, lost in separate thoughts as their hands continued to mechanically hang the dripping laundry on the lines. “My parents died too,” Tyatsai said quietly, “but it was because they gave in, not because they stood up to anything.”

Norek looked up at her, squinting in the sunlight. “You’re not going to give in, are you?” he asked.

She smiled down at him. “No,” she said. “Neither are you.”

#44

2008-11-05T12:34:00.000-08:00

Around 11 p.m. last night, Senator Barack Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States. When I stopped watching, the electoral count was 333-156 (though the popular vote was much closer), a huge, though unsurprising, win for the Democrats.

This was a historic presidential race. With a president with dismally low approval ratings having been in office for the last 8 years, with huge economic and foreign policy issues facing the country, and with an African American on one ticket and a woman on the other, there's little doubt that this was the most watched, the most exciting, and the most controversial race in years and for probable years to come.

I will confess that (though I can't vote yet) I supported McCain, enough to wear a McCain sticker all day yesterday. But, surprisingly, I was not hugely disappointed by the news that Obama had won. Strangely, seeing the words "Sen. Barack Obama elected 44th president of the United States" and hearing the crowds scream all across the country was almost exhilarating. Why? Because at the end of Election Day, at the end of every day, we're all Americans. No matter who we voted for yesterday, we can (and must) put our differences aside and remember that united we stand, divided we fail. Life isn't really about partisan preferences or politics, and there comes a time when, somehow, the differences between us suddenly don't seem quite so important.

Barack Obama made history yesterday. He has inspired millions of Americans with his eloquent, well-delivered speeches on change, and he will continue to inspire for the next four years. Do I agree with him on everything? No. Will he make a good president? That remains to be seen. but the point is - similar to the way former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani put it - no matter who wins each election, American needs to stand behind them. It won't do this country any good if we can't put our differences aside for once and fully support our 44th president, now that we know who he is.

I have another confession to make: I cried all the way through McCain's gracious concession speech. (To put this into perspective, I have never actually cried during any movie.) But I don't think I was crying simply because McCain lost (how lame would that be?!); it was for many reasons.

It was because an African American made history and effectively ended America's infamous era of racial prejudice by becoming our president. It was because of how hard both candidates had worked and how much support Americans had given them. It was because of the crowd in New York City that could put aside their partisan differences and celebrate America's new president, and new beginning, side by side - whether or not he was the candidate they had voted for. It was because after months of campaigning, after months of intense media coverage, scrutiny, and *cough cough* rather obvious bias, the whole thing is finally and very suddenly over (I mean, gee, what is Newsweek going to talk about now?). It was because John McCain, an American hero, had worked so hard on the chance to be president more than once and for several years - but today, he's probably just glad the whole thing's over. it was because after two months of media punches and overwhelming[ly wrong] popular opinion against her, Sarah Palin will suddenly head out of the spotlight and go back to being Alaska's governer, without the title of vice president. And, I think most of all, it was because we are all Americans - diverse, wonderful, crazy Americans who made history yesterday and who will continue to make history every day.

One more thing. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God knows exactly what He's doing. While, to some of us last night, it may not have seemed like it, it's still true. However future president Obama leads America, it's all in God's hands. Knowing that was also part of the emotion tonight. This election just reaffirmed my sometimes-shaky belief that I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I know Who holds tomorrow. And because of that, I can rest totally assured that my past is forgiven and my future is intact - so I can live purely in the here and the now.

Today, the here and the now is the celebration of Barack Obama's election to the presidency. I sincerely wish him all the luck (and the wisdom) in the world. May America bless God and God bless America.

NaNoWriMo 2008

2008-11-01T17:32:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's that time of year again: National Novel Writing Month, from November 1-30, in which several thousand brave (translated: crazy) souls attempt to write a 50,000 word novel in a mere 30 days (http://www.nanowrimo.org/). Yes, I am one of them. The few. The proud. But I still think I was completely crazy.

The first and last time I tried this, two years ago, I ended up with a pitiful 2,000 words - the equivalent of about four pages. I decided it was hopeless and didn't even consider it last year. This year, however, I made several over-ambitious New Year's resolutions , one of them being that I would write a full novel in November.

Well, as the year went on, I began to despair of the idea - until suddenly I was reminded of it totally randomly while doing math one day late in October. I dug out the magazine that had given me the inspiration in the first place, read it over, and got inspired to try again.

So this year I decided to completely rewrite an absolutely pitiful fantasy novel I had finished in May 2006. I took out the long journey, incidents with dragons and old wizards, random encounters with mermaids, and villains obsessed with finding treasure. I also felt the need to cut out some humorous sections with the main character, Tyatsai, and her arch-enemy (whom she winds up being a personal slave for near the end) Enthon. They were kind of funny, but kind of tacky in a way, and they no longer really fit into the story. However, I will paste two of them here for your reading enjoyment:

Enthon returned the book to the shelf and sat down. He settled back in his chair, his feet on the table, and poured himself a glass of rum. "Ah-what a day!" he said, sighing in satisfaction. "My fortress is going well, I'll soon have Mount Olivent's treasure under my belt, my least favorite person in the world is my slave...life is good."

Tyatsai couldn't stand him any longer. Dropping the firewood she was carrying, she went over to Enthon and slapped him as hard as she could across the face.

Enthon, in fury and indignation, spit out the sip of rum he had just taken at Tyatsai, who dodge it coolly. It instead splattered onto the brocade window curtains, leaving a large brown stain.

Enthon cast a very ugly look in Tyatsai's direction, closed his eyes, and began to take deep, slow breaths.

"Now what are you doing?" Tyatsai said.

Enthon opened one eye. "These are my breathing exercises. I must commence them when you exasperate me."

And I thought that was worthy of being published?!

Several days after the fight, Enthon was slumped miserably on his throne. Tyatsai was bringing in more firewood when Loule [Enthon's third-in-command] stepped in, and with him, several insects. His nose ring quivered as he saluted. "All is going well on the construction, milord. The wall is almost complete."

Purposely forgetting her place, Tyatsai asked, "What wall?"

Enthon examined his fingernails and spoke to Loule. "You may tell Miss Falcons that some of the slaves are building a wall around a new compound to house consons. They will be trained to fight for us."

Loule looked bewildered as he turned to Tyatsai. "Some of the slaves are building..."

"I'm not deaf," Tyatsai replied coldly. "You can tell Enthon that consons cannot be tamed or trained, that they'll likely tear him to pieces, and that I won't care at all."

Loule turned back to Enthon. "Consons cannot be tamed..."

"I'm not deaf," Enthon interrupted. He glared at Tyatsai but couldn't think of a good reply.

Loule spoke again. "Sir, you have a fly on your head. I shall remove it." He stepped forward, but Tyatsai intercepted him, carrying a piece of firewood.

"I'll get it!" she exclaimed, and brought the wood down heavily onto Enthon's head. Loule's nose ring dropped to the floor.

Enthon flinched slightly but otherwise showed no discomfort or displeasure. "I beg your pardon, Miss Falcons," he said. "You may want to hold your firewood more firmly from now on. It may slip again."

Both Tyatsai and Loule looked confused.

Well, one can only hope that this year's efforts will turn out much better than that. :-) I will occasionally post excerpts as the month goes on, and will look forward to any brutally honest comments you might have on them.

In It, Not of It

2008-10-25T16:22:00.000-07:00

I hide me far away from trouble
The world outside me grows darker by the day
So I promise to stay here close beside Him
Surely God would want His children safe
Then reading, how my eyes were opened
I find that He is leading us out into the world
Into the middle of fallen saints and sinners
Where a little grace is needed most

Wait a minute
If we say we love them
Why are we not in it
Why we run and hide
Entertain a stranger
Maybe entertain an angel
The danger is if our worlds don’t collide

Come take the light to darker parts
Share His truth with hardened hearts
We are not like the world
But we can love it
Come bring the hope to hopeless men
Until the lost are found in Him
He came to save the world
So let us be in it, not of it
Avalon

Today I am in Erie, Pennsylvania. This is where my sister’s college resides, so we brought her up here for her freshman year. This being her freshman year, we decided to check out a local church’s evening service.

Now, this is no ordinary church. This church does not meet in an elaborate building; there are no stained glass windows depicting Jesus’ miracles, robed choirs with organ accompaniment, or a preacher in a black suit, shouting about fire and brimstone from behind a distant pulpit.

Far from it. This church meets in a place downtown known as the Cell Block. A bar. Yes, Bud Light banners and all.

No one else is there on a Sunday night; it’s just the church. The songs are sung with the accompaniment of two guitars; no piano, no drums. The pastor and worship leaders are wearing jeans and T-shirts. They’re very friendly and down-to-earth; they don’t sound “holier than thou” when they’re preaching or talking.

So why do they meet in a bar? One of the worship leaders said, “Some people think it’s weird that we meet here. But the church is not a building, it’s the people, so we’ll go anywhere necessary to reach them.”

As we were leaving the Cell Block after the very Bible-based, very church-like, very casual service, I said to my sister, “That is the best illustration of ‘be in the world, but not of the world’ that I’ve ever seen.”

Well, it’s true. Holding a church service in that kind of atmosphere, yet being so different from it at the same time, is pretty awesome, in my opinion. They’re doing something right by standing out from the crowd. But the same thing couldn’t be said for all of us.

John 15:19 says, If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Translation: being in step with Christ might mean that we’re out of step with the world. We’re not of the world, so they’re going to hate us. There’s no escaping that fact.

Yet, Matthew 5:13 says, You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? 2 Corinthians 4:4 mentions “the light of the gospel”. We have the gospel, so we have to be light if we’re to reach the world with it.

Out of these verses, we can logically conclude that God has intended for us to be in the world, but not of the world. Let’s take a closer look.

Not Of
“Not of the world” means three things: not loving the world (1 John 2:15), not being attached to the world (Matthew 24:25), and not being like the world (John 17:14).

Not loving the world: First of all, it’s important to understand that the “the world” is not a place. “The world” is what we have made it – very different from “the earth”, which is what God made. Loving the world means loving the sin we brought into it. (This doesn’t mean that we can no longer enjoy books, fashion, sports, nature, food, or friends anymore.) Obviously, we’re all still going to sin, but there’s an enormous difference between sinning and deliberately choosing to do something again and again when you know it’s wrong. While all sin is wrong, repetitive, willful sinning shows love of the world. God hates sin, so we should make a conscious choice to hate it as well.

Not being attached to the world: This world is not our real home. It’s pointless to become attached to material possessions, because they won’t carry over to heaven. It’s fine to enjoy them while we’re here, but it’s not fine to completely focus on them, because that will always leave us unsatisfied with what we already have.

Not being like the world: We’re called to be different. We’re called to a higher purpose than shrinking into the crowd and being the same as everyone else. We’re called to listen to different music, wear different clothes, read different books, talk about different things, watch different movies, and act in different ways. We’re called to stand out so people will take notice.

In the World
I don’t think it’s the “not of” part that a lot of Christians have the most trouble with. After a few years of being a Christian and finding Christian alternatives, it’s not so hard to be different. Pretty soon we settle into our home schooled, sheltered, comfortable conservative lives, raising our children to be different, having family devotions every night, going to church on Sundays and maybe helping around the church in other ways. We vaguely support our political parties, listen to classical music or hymns if we don’t like CCM, pick up our entertainment from the local Christian bookstore, receive our Christian worldview magazines, home school our children or send them to a Christian school, get involved in various Christian sports teams or art classes or homeschool functions or other Christian activities, support our Christian churches, and try to lead our non-Christian acquaintances to Christianity.

Did you notice how many times the word “Christian” appeared in that sentence? It’s not a bad word, and none of these activities in of themselves are not bad. They’re all great. It’s important to be totally plugged in to Christianity. But we’re missing half of our conclusion!

“In the world” does not just mean “live on the earth and be different”. We all live on the earth. It’s not a command. Breathing and sneezing aren’t commands either; they come naturally. Truly living in the world means that we need to be integrated into the world, living “among” the world, so to speak, and being different there.

Salt and Light
Have you ever tried shining a flashlight in broad daylight? I have. There’s not much point. You can hardly even tell it’s on. But when you shine it in total darkness? Whoa. It’s got a lot of power. It changes the atmosphere and can light up the darkest corners.

So what’s the point? You have to be surrounded on all sides by darkness to shine.

We are called to be the salt and light of this world. That is a command. If you’re always surrounded by light, how do you expect to fully fulfill that command? If a bunch of flashlights got together and all shone, what a great gathering that would be. There’d be light for miles around. All the flashlights would learn better ways to shine from various other flashlights, totally ignoring where the reach of the light ended.

Well, I’ve got news for you. Darkness doesn’t move. The only way for light to reach the darkness is for the light to move. We can’t expect the darkness to come to us.

So what’s the point we’re missing? It’s that we can’t hide in our little Christian corners and hope someone comes along and notices that we’re different! That’s not how it works, nor is that how God intended for it to be. Even Jesus mingled with the sinners and the outcasts. He healed those who didn’t deserve to be healed and touched those who weren’t worthy to be touched. Guess what happened? They believed in him! Jesus didn’t spend all His time with His disciples, ignoring the sinners who were desperately trying just to be near him. He went to them. His disciples? Well, I guess you could say they were there for moral and spiritual support. He said it Himself that He didn’t come here for us. He came for the sinners.

Jesus said that we are constantly to strive to be more like Him. So our focus should also switch to the desperate people all around us who may not even know that hope exists. We know what the hope is, but what are we doing about it? Hanging out with fellow Christians, so that we can be edified and encouraged and so that the world won’t be a bad influence over us.

First of all, the words “we”, “me”, and “I” need to be removed from the equation. This is not about us. This is about God, and His primary goal is to bring more people into His kingdom. If we’re going to be like God, then His priorities have got to become ours.

Secondly, while it is important to hang out with other Christians, only keeping the company of Christians isn’t going to win any more followers. If they’re saved, they’re saved, and that’s awesome, but it’s time to give those who are not saved at least an equal amount of our time. If everything we’re doing is with Christians or with Christian organizations, and we never allow ourselves to get “out there” and live a bit radically, we’re not truly in the world. Break out of the exclusive homeschool group and youth group crowd. Make other friends in other circles. Participate in organized or totally unorganized outreaches.

Thirdly, nowhere in the Bible will you find the idea of “stay away from the world lest it influence you to sin”. That would contradict (key verse reference), and the Bible never contradicts itself. However, you will find warnings about what’s out there and exhortations to be on your guard; that’s all over the place. All of us need to constantly be on our guard, but that’s different than avoiding the world altogether. To be in the world and stay rock solid, you’ve got have a firm foundation, know what you believe in, and be able to make the right decisions.

Intro to the Real World
Several years back, I was reading a small Christian magazine. I don’t remember its topic, but one article said that it’s unwise to keep your kids sheltered all their lives, and then get a sudden jolt into the “real world”. It suggested that around age 12, you begin to let them “out” a little – by signing them up for quilting or perhaps music classes.

Now, how much exposure to the real world do you expect your kids to get from quilting or music classes? That’s not the real world. That’s not the answer to being in the world. The real world is messed up and broken. People all around us are filling their holes with junk, only to find that they’re poking more holes. There’s only one thing that can fill every hole for good, and we know what it is. We have the chance to stand out, but we’re not even in. We’re the light, yet we refuse to go out into the darkness.

Those of us who claim to follow Christ should not be blending in with the Christian crowd. We should be standing out, being different, doing radical, crazy things for God simply because we love Him. We should be shining.

I have one more thought. It’s a quote from the book Jesus Freaks by DC Talk: “You may never have to face the decision of whether or not to die for your faith, but every day you face the decision of whether or not you will live for it.”

Can you truly say you’re shining into the darkness? Venture out farther than you’ve been before. Unless we shine, the light won’t be reaching any farther than it is now. It’s time to make the decision. Are you going to live for what you say you believe? Or are you going to keep it all to yourself?

What would Jesus do?

More than Ordinary

2008-10-22T18:22:00.000-07:00

No one of our age has ever taken power...which is why we're too young to realize that certain things are impossible. So we will do them anyway. {amazing grace}

William Wilberforce was an ordinary man. Born in 1759, he became an independent member of Parliament for Yorkshire in 1784 and was converted to Christianity a year later. In 1787, he met Thomas Clarkson, Hannah More, Granville Sharp, and others who convinced him to take on the cause of abolition. From then on, he worked tirelessly for years to abolish the slave trade throughout the British Empire, finally resulting in the Slave Trade Act 1807. He also "tranformed the hearts and minds of his countrymen on education, health care and prison reform to accomplish his second great dream - making a better world."

Ordinary, yes. But God used him to do extraordinary things - no one would argue that abolishing the slave trade was an ordinary task - and his life became more than ordinary.

I'm an ordinary person. I'm a human with human emotions and human desires, limited human knowledge and judgement, a limited human mind. God created me that way. He created everyone that way. We're all human, and we all fail and sin like humans.

William Wilberforce was no different. David, a man after God's own heart, was no different. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was no different. Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, was no different. But though each of them was ordinary, each of their lives was more than ordinary. Why? Because God assigned them an extraordinary task to accomplish. And then He empowered them with the strength they needed to accomplish it.

God placed each of them and each of us where they were and where we are for such a time as this - whatever "this" means for each person. He created us with our lifespan, our life works, our life story, our life accomplishments in mind. He knew before He created time what we were going to do and why we were on this earth at the time that we are. He has placed you and I right here, right now, for a reason, a perfect reason, and all of us are just a fraction of His bigger plan. Even though at times it doesn't seem like it, He always knows what He's doing.

So I'm ordinary. But God can make me more than ordinary. He can empower me to do bigger things than I ever imagined were possible. He has incredible plans for my life, and He can take the ordinary-ness of my life and twist it and turn it upside-down until I shine with extraordinary-ness. He can make my little plans for my life explode until they make an unstoppable difference in the world.

So I am unstoppably ordinary. I am an ordinary person whom God can make much, much more than ordinary. But a responsibility for me comes along with that. God can bless me all He wants, but if I just sit back and wait for it, I will get nowhere. Blessing, just like salvation, is a two-way conversation: He offers, and I accept.

I'll wait for the offer. And then I will accept. I want to be more than ordinary.

I want to be unstoppable. God is. If He's in me, than I can be too. It's time to move some mountains.