Okee-dokee!
If you can recall one of my old posts "Winterfest", then you should remember my notes about the Dinner with the Skeptics. There is a free audio download of what I listened to that wonderful night at http://www.winterfest.org/ (It's right at the top of the page) Be sure to check it out!!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Comments
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:
I hope I have made my point clear to you.
Don't forget to leave comments. ;) <wink, wink>
-Megs
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.
I hope I have made my point clear to you.
Don't forget to leave comments. ;) <wink, wink>
-Megs
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
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.
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.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
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
<<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
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Welcome
Welcome faithful blog readers!!! If you are reading this then you must have seen my post on my facebook page or I told you about it. Thank you for stopping by to read this! I have put a couple of my past blogs from fb on here. (If you haven't read them yet be sure to check them out!) I'm really excited to have an even fresher start on my new blog: Drawing January.
Info for you:
I will be try to post a weekly blog, but I might post more than one a week if I feel like it. So, if you enjoy what you read, make sure to come by at least once a week.
I plan on writing about my life and the way I see things, but I would also like ideas about what to write. Please leave any questions you'd like to know the answer to. (no personal ?'s though because this webpage is free to any viewers.)
Even if you don't have any questions, feel free to leave comments!
Bye bye for now,
-Megs
PS- Do you like the cool D.J. logo by my profile? I created it all by myself!!!
Again, thank you all for just stopping by and make sure to leave comments!!
Info for you:
I will be try to post a weekly blog, but I might post more than one a week if I feel like it. So, if you enjoy what you read, make sure to come by at least once a week.
I plan on writing about my life and the way I see things, but I would also like ideas about what to write. Please leave any questions you'd like to know the answer to. (no personal ?'s though because this webpage is free to any viewers.)
Even if you don't have any questions, feel free to leave comments!
Bye bye for now,
-Megs
PS- Do you like the cool D.J. logo by my profile? I created it all by myself!!!
Again, thank you all for just stopping by and make sure to leave comments!!
Winterfest
As you might have known, I was away last weekend on a trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where I was with my youth group for a big shindig called Winterfest. I was in many seminars, stayed up till 12am both nights, and was enlightened in many ways. Let me tell you about it:
Notes
Book Promotion: Dinner with the Skeptics
The author went to Australia for 2 things- a baseball meeting and a church planting meeting. The church booked a 2-star(ish) hotel for him to stay at; the baseball people booked a 5-star...
So at the 5-star hotel, the manager asked him about what he did for a living. After telling her that he was a preacher, the woman smirked and the walked away. A few minutes later, she returned and invited him to have [free] dinner with her and her whole staff. He quickly replied and showed up at the hotel restaurant for dinner that night. When he got there he realized that they weren't trying to be nice, they were planning to make fun of him and embarrass him for the dinner's entertainment.
The first man asked him the question, "How can you believe in God with so much evil in the world?"
In reply the pastor said, "That is a good question. Do you mind if we go back and forth on it?"
The man, shocked to get a quick reply, answered yes.
The author's logic: If you say there is "evil" then you must be acknowledging that there is "good" because you can't have one without the other. But if you say there is "good" and there is "evil", how do YOU know what should be put under each category? Unless there is a universal moral law that defines the line between "good" and "evil", you can not decipher between the two. So who decided what that universal law said? God! Without God there is no "evil" for God is "good", without "good" or "evil" there can be no law.
This question assumes that God exists.
The pastor and the man went back and forth on this until the man realized he had picked a loosing fight. He started drinking heavily and would be drunk by the end of the night.
The next woman asked, "How can you, as a Christian claim, explain why he allows so much pain and suffering in out world?"
In answer, "That's a good question," he turns to her boyfriend sitting next to her, "Do YOU mind if we go back and forth on this?"
The boyfriend, afraid to make a fool of himself, hesitates, but then he thinks that if he can win this argument he might be able to win her heart. You must know, that throughout dinner so far this man could not take his eyes off of her, yet she ignored him. "Yeah, sure, we can go back and forth."
To the boyfriend, "Okay then, what would you say if I could give you a computer chip to place in the back of your girlfriend's head so that you could control her thoughts and actions. You would just have to type a command into a computer and she would do it. Would you like that?"
"Well of course!" he replied, greedily looking around for such a device.
"No you wouldn't"
"Yes I would."
"Oh, no you wouldn't"
"Oh, yes I would."
"No you-"
"Okay, I give up, why wouldn't I like it?"
With a smile the pastor said, "You would enjoy it a whole lot, at first, but later on, you would dread it because you would know that whatever she did or said wouldn't be from her heart, it would be from the chip. So to answer your question," he turned back to the girlfriend, "you can force someone to do many things, but you cant make them love you. The same idea applies to God, and he want our real love. So God gave us free will that we may use to CHOOSE to love him. Unfortunately, free will also opens up the door to evil. Mankind can abuse their free will and end up hurting others. Pain and suffering isn't from God, it is from Man. He can either take you out or take away your freedom in order to stop this, but if he loves you too much to take you out and if he took away your freedom he wouldn't get your freely given love.
Someone else asked, "If God is good, as described before, should he not limit some of the evil in the world?"
Pastor: "Here let me explain it this way. A father says to his child, 'Don't play in the street, it is dangerous.' The child hears his father, but goes and plays in the street anyway and then gets hit by a car. Now the child wouldn't (or couldn't) go back and say, 'Dad how could you?' It just doesn't work like that. In the same sense, God warns us about the dangers of the world in the Bible. He sets boundaries for us and if we stay within those boundaries, we will be safe. If we do not, like the child, we will get hurt. We are the ones that pain and suffering come from! We are the ones who disobeyed!"
Still puzzling over if the computer chip is real or not, the boyfriend nods his head.
"Okay then, if God is really good, as you say, then how could he send someone to hell?" another person inquires.
"We as humans have things that we MUST do to survive. We must have food, water, and shelter. You can't say, 'I'm not going to eat.' and expect to live much longer. God, has his own requirements too. He cannot be with anything impure, unholy, or sinful. In the days of the old testament, God had his people make sacrifices to wash away their sins. Today we don't have to do this because God made the ultimate sacrifice, he gave up his one and only son to save us all and so that we may be with him. BUT, if all of your life you say, 'I don't need or want God. I want to have nothing to do with him and this religion.',when judgment day comes God will say to you, 'Okay, I'm sad that YOU CHOSE this.' and then he will send you to hell.
In recap, God is good. He set the universal law that defines the line between good and evil, clarifying what is holy and unholy. He wants our love, but he wants it given freely, not forcefully. So, he gave us the power to choose between good and evil, and he gave us instructions of how to stay pure and righteous. Unfortunately, some people have chosen to not follow him and they commit sins which create pain and suffering for themselves and others. Those who choose to not be with God while on earth, are given their wish and are sent to hell where they will be separated from God, for eternity. Those who do choose to be with him and accept him are granted passage into heaven to be with him forever."
This was what Jeff Vines, the author, told us about Saturday morning; I took thorough notes as you can see. He also gave us some tips for when up against the skeptics:
- Ask question more than statements- the questions help people:
- recognize self defeating questions
- realize the importance of coherency in any world view
- open up with their own assumptions
He had a jar, a bucket, and a large plexiglas container each full of pennies. The far held 60 pennies- one penny for every second in a minute. The bucket held 3,600 pennies- one penny for each second in an hour.
And the plexiglas held 86,400- one for each second in a whole day.
Walling told us that these pennies represent the time given to us by God. When God gives them to us, we have to rules that are ultimately unbreakable:
- No saving, you must spend all of the money right away (you can't save time)
- Whatever you spend it on, shows what has worth to you
So, looking at the 2nd rule, you spend a lot of time doing regular things like getting ready in the morning, going to the bathroom, etc. ...
How much time are you spending on God?
God gave us this life money (time) and he can take it back-no refunds- but he won't because he also gave us the freedom to spend it on what we want.
God doesn't want the leftover cash.
He wants you to give your life money to him, so he'll make a deal with you. God's deal: "You give me all of your time [which I gave to you by the way] on earth, and once you have spent every last penny- I will give you eternity. So what do you say, the little bit of time you have for eternity with me?"
So what will you choose? Will you give him your all?
My last page of notes is about the kind of relationship God wants to have with us.
Today people of the church seem to be all about order. They think "everything must be done perfectly, or God won't love us!"
But does he really care that much about how we do our church service? (The answer is debatable, but that's not my point.) I don't think that that is really what God is after.
What he wants is our love, he wants us to talk with him, walk with him, and do anything and everything with him. God doesn't want a forced, artificial love, he wants the real thing.
Forget the formalities, God isn't a god who stares down his nose at us, he is a god who looks us in the eye. He is with us all the time and wants to hear everything on our minds. Like King David, we can scream, argue, laugh/joke, cry, etc... at/with God-he doesn't mind. He just wants our focus!
So there is what I learned at Winterfest. Now, for the actual blog part: My experiences!
In recent days I have read a handful of books that I could classify as action-romance. I have always loved the action parts, but now that I am older I enjoy a touch of romance too. For you lady readers out there-I'm sure you know what I mean. Well in in these romantic parts, the author will describe a "tingling sensation" that comes over the girl where ever the boy touches her when they are hugging and kissing. I do not know this as a fact, as I have not been in a romantic relationship before, but I think I understand this "tingling sensation".
Whenever I am singing to God in praise, I do my best to focus on the words and pour my soul into them, letting God know that I truly love him. I want to mean the words that I say and not just rattle of nonsense-ness. When I do this, my whole body feels a "tingling sensation" and I wonder, is this what it feels like to be touched by the one you love?
I have been feeling this sensation for over a year, but I felt it a lot over Winterfest because of the amount of singing we did.
Another experience I had was a mixture of uncomfortableness, detachment, and just plain boredom. Let me elaborate: I was roomed with girls that I do not know very well. During free time, we have to stay with our [a] chaperon so I stayed with these girls. We walked around Gatlinburg for a bit, but then the other girls decided that they wanted to go get in line for seating early so that they could get front row seats. I, of course, had to stay with them for safety reasons. Once we got there, we met up with some of the guys in our youth group (also of whom I am not acquainted) who had the same idea, so we sat with them. We sat there for 2 hours!!! During this time they played a few games and tried their best to involve me, which I appreciated, but when some more people showed up from our youth group, it got kind of crowded and I was sort of pushed to the edge. These kids weren't trying to be rude on purpose, they just were hanging out with their friends that they had [probably] known since kindergarten and didn't stop to think about the newbie sitting on the sidelines. In a small way I am glad they didn't involve me because they were doing some crazy things such as jumping, punching, pinching, and many other things to each other that I do not do, yet I couldn't help but feel left out. Can you blame me?
I sat there and observed these "brothers and sisters" of mine for a long while. It got me to thinking, "Am I like this? If a new person was sitting near me and my friends, would I be acting like this? Would I forget about their existence as soon as I saw a familiar face?" I pondered on this thought for a while and then came to the conclusion, "No, I would not be acting like this, but then again I don't normally act like this even around my friends. I would do my best to include the new person and find away to get them involved. If I have ever made a person feel the way I feel now, I am truly sorry." I go through this on many occasions- if I see someone acting in a manner I do not particularly like, then I try to stop and reflect. I look back and try to remember if I ever acted like that person and how it felt when I did, if I did. Then, I make plans for the future to not act like this person. I might make up scenarios that I would have the chance to act like this person but could also choose a better action. I highly suggest this form of reasoning, it has helped me become a better person and a better Christian.
To make matters worse, I didn't even get a front row, no, not even a second or third row seat. When the great doors opened and we were allowed to rush to our seats with vigor I ran in right behind (note: behind) the group. The front row was already taken by the one group who was in front of us, so we started into the second row. The row filled up and a few people were even sitting on top of each other. And, get this, there was no room at the inn for me! There were no more seats left in the row. I stood there dumbfounded for a second, not wanting to believe that I had just patiently wasted all that time in line and not getting my reward; by the time I recovered and started looking for a seat nearby, maybe in the third row behind them, that I could take, the fifth row was already starting to be filled up. I looked back to the group, tears tearing at the back of my eyes, wanting to come out, and those on the end stared back at me, realizing the problem. "What should I do?!" I squeaked to them. Shrugging their shoulders, they looked away from me and took a dedicated interest in their shoes. It finally hit me that I wasn't going to get a front row seat; I had waited all that time in silence, bored out of my mind nonetheless, for nothing. I pressed on, "I mean, I don't want any of you to have to give up your seats for me to sit there, I am glad for you that you get to sit here, but what should I do? We aren't supposed to sit by ourselves, and I don't have anyone to sit with!" Again, the antsy group stared up at me and then looked away shrugging, not offering a single idea of what to do or even an, "I'm sorry." They just looked away from me like a diseased person and continued on. Oh, how I wanted to cry! I was distraught and lost and alone in an over crowded room. With out another word, I walked away trying to find at least one of my friends, hoping that they had a spare seat for me.
I did find a seat next to a few girls that I had hung out with at church before. They weren't the best seats because you had to crane your neck to see either the stage or the big screens that projected what was happening on stage, yet I enjoyed the lesson, my un-shed tears subsided and eventually became a thing of the past. I wasn't the only one to want to cry that night. The girl sitting next to me started crying harshly, moved by lesson. She groped at the girl on her other side, yearning for someone to hold on to, as tears poured down her face like mini waterfalls. The other girl hugged her back, but then let go, not exactly sure what to do. Still crying, the girl turned to me and I reached out for her embrace as she reached out for mine. I held on to her fiercely and rubbed her back soothingly. I wanted her to know that I was there for her. She must have understood my unspoken message because then she gripped tighter onto me and we rocked back and forth with the tempo of the praise song starting up around us. I sang along, but still held on to her. We stood there clutching each other for the rest of the service.
So, I guess good came out of my misfortune in the end. If I had sat in the front row, who would have held the teary eyed girl? God had a plan, and I am glad that he involved me!!
Okay, enough about Winterfest...
Here is a short list of things I have accomplished in the past few weeks:
- I made it into the school musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat.(I'm only in the chorus, but that means I'll be on stage most of the time :D)
- A piece of my artwork has been chosen to be displayed at the school bored office. (each school only gets 2 spots, and mine was chosen for 1 of them!)
- A piece of my writing has been chosen to go into a county-school book written by students (I'm going to be in print!!!-every author's dream)
- I wrote a 480 word essay about why I will not do drugs or alcohol for an assignment, and mine was chosen among 2 others to be sent into a contest with cash prizes.
- My walk with Jesus, I am proud to say, is moving swimmingly, and my faith is growing rapidly.
And that about sums it up!!
Don't forget to leave comments!
Oh and thank you to those of you who actually read this thing despite its length, I am very thankful!!
North vs. South
Sorry for skipping out last week! Things just got so busy that I actually forgot to write something up!
Okay, as requested by a few of my readers:
I'd like to call this little tid-bit, "The Differences Between Up and Down"
North (Up)
Faster Life Styles- Almost everyone is almost always living in the fast lane and trying to get things done so fast that they forget to stop and sniff the roses (is that how the phrase goes?). They get up early and go to bed late, never taking the time to stop and see the beauty of life. (not pointing any fingers at you northerners up there!!)
Car Production- Do I even need to say it? Up north they have GM, Ford, and other big car companies and factories. Down here-not so much.
Restaurants- Ohhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! How I miss coney islands and family diners!!!!!!!!!!!
Weather- in the north there is A LOT of snow and it gets A LOT colder (for obvious reasons) and actually I think it gets warmer in the summer up in MI, but that's probably just me
Economy- As I'm sure you know, the economy in the north isn't exactly "thriving"… Most of you know that better than I.
South (Down)
Slower Life Styles- actually, this accusation could be considered false, you might think that the south is all "Ride the horse to get to school and work, barbecues, and running around outside all the time", but in reality, life really isn't that different- we use cars to get around, we do have barbecues (but not all the time), nor do kids just run around all the time either. Most kids are sitting inside playing video games, watching movies, or listening to music.
Car Production- We have Nisan!!!!! We have Nisan!!!!! (Although from our past experience with Nisan's Cube, my parents aren't real happy with them.)
Restaurants- We have what you call "Meat and 3" restaurants down here, here's how it works: you pick your main dish (the meat) and then you pick 3 sides. It is as simple as that.
Weather- Rainy winters and springs, hot summers and bearable autumns- I like the weather down here!!!!!
Economy- We are thriving down here!!! Lots of manufacturing, high tech industries, and galore!! Not to mention TN being "the volunteer state"
So there are just a few differences that I have come across.
(I know this one is short, but I am having trouble thinking of anything to write about. Any suggestions will be appreciated.)
(Don't forget to leave comments!)
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