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     I do believe that it is every author's dream to write something, to create something out of words, and to get it published. Though, once they do get it published, authors [might] tend to get a little antsy. They wonder to themselves, "Was my piece of literature any good? Did readers enjoy it, hate it, treasure it, trash it, or ignore it? What did they think when they read it? I want to know!" (at least female authors might think that way, if you get what I'm saying)
    So what does that have to do with me? Well, truth be told, I AM a published author. In print and on the web. Although my printed pieces of literature are in books with a collection of others' works. My blog, I think, makes me an author, too. For example, there are three buttons under this text box that I am typing into. One blue button says "Preview" on which shows me what my blog will look like when it is published. The next blue button says, "Save Now" so that I can save my unfinished blogs and return to them later. The last, however, is an orange button and is definitely the most important. It says "Publish Post". By clicking this button, I publish my simple piece of literature and put it out on the web so virtually anyone who comes across it could read it if they so desired. It is open for the entire world to read!!! How cool is that?
   Back to the point, authors, such as myself, crave feedback. We pour our hearts into our writing and send it off to be shared with the world, and we would love to hear what people have to say about our work! Despite what some might say, writing is a tricky thing to do, especially in the English language. There are so many words to choose from, multiple ways to set up a sentence, not to mention adding phrases and clauses to give it some flavor, writing isn't just a sit down and do it kind of thing. Writing is a sit down, think about it, and then write it kind of thing! This, what you are reading right now, is, in a way, a part of me. I am giving you a small window into my heart, and I would like to know what you think about what you see.
   And I would prefer an actual sentence or two, not just a "good job" or a virtual pat on the back. I'm glad to hear that you like it and sad to hear that you dislike it, but I really want to know "Why?". What part made you laugh so hard that milk came out your nose? What part made you bawl your eyes out? What part made your heart want to leap out of your chest because it was pounding so hard? I would like to know, please!!
   Okay, spiritual moment. If you refer back to my first blog posted, "The Wizard of Oz", I wrote about how God is like an author. After writing what I just wrote now, I realize just how true that is! He created us, he has written our lives out, and he wants to know what we think about it. He wants us to tell him how we feel about the plot of our lives. Each and every situation we face has been planned by God and he, as an author, wants to know what we think about it! He doesn't want just a little, "Dear God, thanks for everything, Amen" either. He wants a "Dear God, You amaze me every day. Thank you for my friends and family, they may be a pain sometimes, but boy do I love them! Jacob made me laugh so hard the other day, thank you for giving him such a good sense of humor, I really needed a break from all the stress lately. There is the whole deal at school, you know where Suzy told Donald that Missy said that I shaved Rachel's head. It isn't even true, Rachel and I are friends. I didn't shave her head, actually she wanted it to be shaved. She did it for cancer research. I'm not exactly sure how shaving your head will help people find a cure for cancer, but she did it and I couldn't be more proud of her. Then there is the whole deal at home... you know the one I told you about yesterday. It seems as if a dark rain cloud is hovering over my house, and I don't know if things will ever lighten up. Scratch that, I know things will lighten up because I trust you, but right now, it is really hard to keep going. Please help me through this, Father, and help Suzy and Donald and Missy, they don't know you. Help me shine your light out to them so that they might find you. Please bless Jacob and Rachel, they have been there for me for quite a while now and I am truly grateful that you have placed them in my life. Amen."  <------That is the kind of prayer God wants from us!


So, if I haven't gotten my point across yet, here is a summary:

• Authors put there hearts into their work, and they want to know what their readers think.
• I am an author, so I pour my heart into my writing and I'd like to know what you think about it.
• God is an author; he as been putting his heart into every thing since the beginning of time, and he would really love it if we would tell him what we think about his book, All of Life.

That about sums it up!
I hope I have made my point clear to you.
Don't forget to leave comments.  ;) <wink, wink>
-Megs

The Parable of the Princess Warrior

   The princess stood there on the battlefield, still as ice, listening to the haunting sounds around her--a rush of wind, a malicious laugh. The Enemy's mysterious fog had surrounded her now, and she was separated from the ongoing battle, singled out from her comrades. She knew to keep her wits and strength about her, for she had seen friends disappear into this very mist and never return.
   A black figure appeared before her and slowly cut its way through the mist. Close enough for her to see now, she saw that is was a man dressed in dark material, with no weapons. His skin was a sickly pale, yet his oily smile was wide as he approached her. He was truly hideous which gave him a frightening effect, but the princess was unaffected by his appearance. He needed no physical weapon, even against her, because he had his tongue, his mouth, his words.
   The Enemy's agent began his attack, speaking what the princess knew to be ludicrous, trying to convince her that his lies were true. She stood her ground, unafraid, for she was wearing the helmet her father had given her. He had told her that it would protect her head, and everything in it, in battle, and she trusted him. She was not shaken by this nefarious threat.
   The man continued talking as he stepped even closer. She could feel his breath blasting against her face, yet still she resisted. Quick as lightning, the man reached up, knocked off her helmet, and jumped back. He continued speaking his non-sense and began circling her, like a predator to prey, eying her hungrily. Without her protection, the princess's efforts to block his attack were futile. She was defenseless and vulnerable. Soon, his deceitful words began to make sense to her and she believed his false statements.
    Stepping up from behind, he whispered commands in her hear. He told her to lay down her shield and guaranteed happiness if she did. Staring at the shield on her arm, the princess's memory flashed back to when her father had handed it to her and telling her about its purpose, but then her mind became foggy and she began to take the straps off. Before it even clanged to the ground, he asked her to remove her belt. As if in a trace, she unbuckled it and let it, as well as her scabbard, fall to the ground. Next he convinced her to remove her breastplate, which she did willingly. Finally, he had her drop her sword. It fell from her hand as if it had caught fire and was burning her flesh.
   Before she could realize what she had done, he knocked her to the hard rocky ground where she laid amongst her discarded protective gear. Pulling a hidden dagger from his boot, the man went in tor the kill. Wide-eyed, the princess could only stare at the dagger that she knew would surely pierce her skin. As soon as he got close, though, a shining sword ran him through and he was gone. Genital hands reached down and cradled the princess. She clung onto her father as he carried her back to safety.

   She asked him to set her down so she could put her armor back on, and he obliged. Ready for battle once again, they set off to continue the fight, but blocking their way was a team of soldiers from The Enemy's side. Crouched in a defensive position, the princess grinned a knowing smile and looked up at her father who stood over her in a protective way, sword drawn. He smiled back, and, in the blink of an eye, they sprang off to overcome this minor setback. In unison, father and daughter took down The Enemy's men. It cam down to a two on one fight--the princess against two of The Enemy. The king had just finished off the rest of the troop. One of The Enemy held her attention in a quick moving sword fight while the other sneaked around in order to get her from behind. Rushing to her aid, the king took out the sneaker as she finished off the other. Breathing heavily, the girl turned back to her father and smiled, thankful for his protection.
   Later that day, while sitting inside their camp, the princess took her helmet off and set it down to air it out after the long battle. A soldier was carrying a large pile of supplies near by and dropped something that fell to the ground and rolled away. Getting up, the princess went in search of the fallen object. She found the object lying on the ground near the edge of camp. Picking it up, she examined the small metallic orb. It appeared to be a small explosive device, of some sort, and raking her mind for the types of bombs used by the king's army, she decided that it was a smoke bomb. Though, the emblem painted on it was not of her father's. Taking a closer look, she realized that it was of The Enemy's!
   Suddenly, the sphere exploded and she was surrounded by the thick mist she had only just escaped. a rought hand covered her mouth and another pair bound her heavy ropes. The princess then fell to the ground with a thump--on conscious.

  A letter from The Enemy, telling of the girl's kidnapping, arrived at the king's tent in a matter of minutes.The king was infuriated when he read it. The letter also implied that the only way to get her back was through a trade, a life for a life, a soul for a soul, and The Enemy didn't want just any soldier, The Enemy wanted someone important--the king's only son. Upon reading this, the king called for the prince.
   Entering his father's tent with vigor, the price looked at his father's grieving face and immediately knew that something was amiss. The king handed the letter to him. Eyes skimming the paper rapidly, he understood his father's pain. Looking the king in the eye, the price nodded, accepting what he would have to do to free his precious sister whom he loved. He readied his horse and set out alone.
   When the prince arrived at The Enemy's camp, he was ripped from his horse, kicked, beaten, and then tied in ropes to restrain him. He was then taken to the commander's tent Looking up at him, the princess was shocked to see her brother, and even more surprised to see him tied up like a prisoner. She tried to warn him to escape, but the commander, foul in every way, silenced her. He ordered a guard to remove her from his presence and take her to the prison cells (he had had no intention to let her go, even if the prince did come). As the pale guard began walking her out of the tent, the prince used his body to crash into him. He knocked the guard to the ground and screamed for his sister to run. Caught in fear, the princess fled from the scene, hopped on her brother's horse, and rode away.
   She hurt inside. Her feelings spinning around her head like a wild tornado of miserableness. It was her fault, she was convinced, that her brother was now in the hands of evil. If she hadn't gotten caught in the first place he wouldn't be in his current position nor if she had stayed to help him instead of running away. All she could think about was what her father would do when she returned.
  
    A hug from strong arms greeted her arrival. She and her father wept in each other's arms, and she was comforted. They stayed together and were inseparable. After three days had passed the two were still mourning over the prince. The princess thought that he would have surely been killed. Finally she decided to go out and take a walk alone. Squinting as she stepped out into the brilliant day light, something caught the princess's eye. A person's silhouette was walking straight out of the sun and approaching her. She started making out familiar features on the man when he started getting close enough. Soon, the mysterious figure turned into her smiling brother. Laughing in disbelief, she ran to him. After grabbing him in a hug, she ushered him into their father's tent where they all rejoiced in jubilation.

    On the battlefield, a father and his two children stand together and lead his armies to victory. The war will soon be over, they know. Someday they will return home to the golden city of peace, and that is something to look forward to.

What to write, what to write...

     ...and so I had no idea what to write about! 
<<Rewind<<
Let's go back and I'll recap why I don't have anything good to write about today.
Okay, since my last 'real' post (meaning "Winterfest") I have had a busy week. At school, teachers have been practically throwing homework at us because the card marking ends next Friday and we have been out of school because of sooooooo many snow days. I've had 3 musical practices after school (2 of which were back to back on Monday and Tuesday). Talk about tiring!
     Other than the amount of work, though, school has been quiet enjoyable. If you call doing all of the work in a group project, having best friend out all week because of the flu, and having another friend down in the dumps for reasons unknown enjoyable. You see, in reading class we have this group debate project coming up. The class was first split up into topic groups, and then those groups were split into "FOR" and "AGAINST" sides. My group and I are against capital punishment. On our last day to work on it as a group, my team mates handed me their research cards, said to me, "Here, look through these and see if there is any information that we missed.", and then started talking with each other about a completely off-topic topic! I was irritated by them, but didn't know what to say to them to get them to help. Nothing I thought of would have worked, I am sure. Then one of my other friends was out Monday-Thursday with the sick. I missed her dreadfully because I wanted to talk to her about the book I was reading and I don't have any other way of contacting her besides face to face at school. She finally came back on Friday, but we didn't get much time to talk. One of my friends who was at school, however, seemed out of it. She seemed down in the dumps, especially at lunch, but when I asked her about it, she just shrugged and said everything was okay. Sounds fun, right?
      Don't feel bad though, my week hasn't been terrible. On the contrary, I had a sleepover with one of my other friends!! I do believe that this was my first sleepover in TN (not counting when family and friends from MI visited). We had a blast, at least, I did. We did each other's make-up, and I discovered that I should not become a make-up artist in the future. (Yeah, I'll admit it, it looked pretty bad/funny) I curled her hair after that, and it looked really pretty. Later, we went through some journals and stories I wrote when I was 11 years old. I remember writing some of those and the feelings I had when my gel pen touched the paper: excitement, happiness, and bliss, as well as anger, sorrow, and exasperation. We both agreed that it was pretty good writing. Then I told her a few "famous" sleepover stories such as "The Pink Golf Ball Story" and "Hannah Banana". (You'd have to be there...)
      I'm really excited about next weekend when I'll be going on the Girls' Retreat with North Boulevard C of C. We have a lot of cool crafts planned and tons of fun is promised.

     Oh! And I won a very nice prize from a drawing at the Library. To enter the drawing all I had to do was read 6 books and write a few sentences of what I thought about them-EASY! Amazingly, I won! The grand prize was a one night stay at the Double Tree Hotel (it has an indoor/outdoor pool!!!), a $75 gift card to a Japanese cuisine restaurant (not really my thing, but I'll take it), and 2 tickets to the local theater in which mom and I will be watching "OKLAHOMA!" (one of my favorite musicals)! I am uber-excited!!!

    
     ...and so that is why I had no idea what to write about! Sorry if this blog entry put you to sleep...


Wait a second, I guess I did have something to write about after all! It might not be as long as "Winterfest", but I think I did a pretty good job at writing when I had nothing to write about. What say you? (Remember: PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS!!)

-Megs