Thursday, February 21, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
At Last
I am glad to let you know that I have posted the 21 posts that I had saved up for you to read since I have not had internet. I did not get my computer back yet but I was able to transfer the files to my school's computer and post them there. Please read only the one's that you like. I will spend more time trying to update the posts as well, adding multimedia effects to them making it all the more interesting. For the few readers I have, here is something entertaining.
Watch this, it isn't offensive.
America Falls In Love With A European Wizard
I have a confession to make. I know that a lot of people will be impossibly disappointed in me. I don't know how I cope with myself over this issue. I think I might go see a therapist or a support group. But there is something I have to get off my chest. Please don't hate me for this but...
I haven't read the seventh Harry Potter book yet.
I know, I know, it's horribly isn't it. I starrted it right when it came out and then I stopped about seven chapters in because my summer got busy. I tried to start it up again but I don't think I can. In fact, I don't think I want to. Actually, I am confident I don't want to finish the Harry Potter series yet. I will let it remain a strange mystery in the back of my mind for a while longer. It WILL wait.
To be honest, I am kind of disapponted in Harry Potter and the way that it has gone over the "years." I didn't see things like this happening, which is what made this story great from the beginning. I don't know if you could call it predictable by the time it got to the end, but it definately became more predictable than before. He used to be something new all the time and he had more corners to turn than Daytona 500. I want to stop with him altogether, and yet I am drawn to him in somewhat the way I am drawn to Cher.
In the beginnig it was all logical why so many people were falling in love with these whimsical tales. A conglomeratin of strange things lied in everwhere like mines on a mine field waiting for you to blow them up with every step. Three headed dogs, giant stoney-eyed snakes, baby dragons with heart filled giants, talking paintings, all in a logical sensible world. Sounds just a little interesting.
But then as J.K. Rowling started to write more books she got ther characters more involved with each other and I felt like it was the paparazzi for fictional characters. If didn't care about Johnny Depp's dating life I sure won't care about Ron Weasly's. (And who came up with the term shnogg anyway?) I think she strayed from the point and may have been just trying to write more pages.
Actually, the real reason I don't want to finish the series is because I have been reading Harry since I was in 4th grade and he was a great character to follow for six years, (more in my life). I enjoyed all of his adventures with Voldemort and all the suspense that follows him through every magical cliff he hangs. I don't want ther to be an ending yet. It seemed that every time I read Harry I knew that there would be more to read. Now, I know that after I read this, there will be no more Harry to read, and I may lose a vital connection to my childhood.
I'm sorry, Harry, that I haven't let go yet. I think I'm going to cry. Let's see about that support group now.
All Princes Start As Frogs
In this day and age we have several problems. In fact there hasn't been a day and age when we haven't had a problem. One of our problems is that women are finding themselves dating the wrong guys, and then bad descisions are made, and bad stuff happens, and I don't believe this part of the story deserves some good detail full with image. You can be in charge with that. I think that Superchic[k] hit it right on the head when they wrote their song "All Princes Start as Frogs."
So there is an easy way to end all of these problems. We need to take every single boy in the world and lock them up in some underground, primodial pool for them to spawn and create all the havoc they want. The frogs can coninually being frogs and wallowing in their slimy selves on sofas. Of course a sufficient amount of flies will be bred to keep the males alive.
This way women won't have to deal with the dirty, filthy, lazy men that ruin their lives. Young women won't have those wrong men to mess up their educated youth and they can live a happy childhood playing with ponies, and shopping for scrunchies and teddy bear tea parties will become a necessary ritual.
We will have specially trained men watchers, breeders, trainers, and testers to keep the man population under control and alive. As we do know that a select few men can go through countless years of training of courtship, chivalry, origami, kung-fu, and begging can make a man into a knight in shining armor, and women can partake of marrying a knight. Of course only for payment of 19.99 plus shipping and handling. Plus a Knight Permit must be given to show how to handle one of these men, as they can tend to forget their training.
Unfortunately, our man market is dropping due to the lack of interest. Who knows, maybe someday men will become extinct. I have heard rumors though of a frog uprising. Maybe this whole plan is going to fail, but that's nothing a little electrial fly trap can't fix. Better watch out.
Psychadelic Meeyaan!!
You see a lot of pschology everyday you know? It's probably because psycholog is the study of human behaviour but besidest that, many well known psychological practices are either well known or completely logical. We see a lot of pschology also demonstrated and expained on T.V. So I wouldn't be surprised if you walked into a Psychology class and said "Duh" the whole time.
And that is one of the reasons that I love Psychology a lot. But there are other things too that explain other behaviors we may have noticed before. For instance what we do in our dreams or how we sleep and gain sleep, or how we perceive illusions. And there is a problem with that.
Now I know the magic behind most of life's little mysteries, and I have a tecnical terms to explain all of it. It's almost depressing. I actually feel less motivated to read my book because of that, I don't want to know the reasons behind our actions and everything else that happens to us in our whole lives.
The other thing that makes me soooooo mad is the assumptions that our teachers make us make. He isn't telling us that his "theories" are true but he is telling us that they exist and weaving them into our minds so that we start to believe them. (I hate subliminal messaging, and all those sorts of things.)
In class the other day we were talking about people volunteering and he (my teacher) came up with the theory that nobody truly gives up what they have for the good of another. Everything we do is somehow, somewhere self-motivated to help us in some way. That makes me so mad, to think that everybody is naturally mean people and there is no way that we can do actual good.
This made me really mad...and then it got me thinking. It is true that people are born sinful and inherit a sinful nature from Adam. We are naturally bad people and I guess what we do could be self-motivating. Jesus also said that because of our nature we can't even do good things because they are tainted. Maybe that is what He was talking about.
I started thinking about my Psychology class a lot more, and it only strengthened my foundation with Christ more, and more. I guess, I was just caught up with happy thoughts again, ignoring what God told me. He is all around us, and He is awesome.
"I Don't Get You Babe"
You know what confuses me? Well, there is a long list of things acutally, but you want to know what I'm going to tell you confuses me? Cher. I just don't get her, and yet she has a particular call that reminds me of my childhood. Now that I say that it sounds a little creepy. Let me explain.
When I lived back in my little hometown my mom was always listening to Cher. Cher has always been her role-model in everything. She loves her in nearly every way. You have no idea how many times I have heard "If I could turn back time, if I could find a way..." I'm not saying she is a bad artist. I admit I kind of like her music. But she is so strange I don't get how anything like that works.
I guess you could say that I grew up with Cher. I've heard just about every song she has ever written three times. And I seem to know more about her life than any other popular icon of today that I have no personal connection to whatsoever, which oddly enough, has become a popular habit of today's people. I like her past dealing with her ethnicity. And you can't say that she doesn't have just an amazing voice.
I really like her songs in the music and memory that it reminds me. You know I can almost relate any part of my life with what band or kind of music I was listening to a lot at that time. Anyways, she actually writes a lot of strange songs. She writes so much about love with millions of people, and she writes about it in all sorts of ways. Tough love, bad love, lost love, stupid love, emotional love, fake love, cheating and so on. I can't believe most of the things she sings and I can say that I am offended by some of the things she fantacises about, and still I can't get away because I can't find myself not finding something good about her.
But here I am and I still don't understand her anymore than I did before. I can't decide if her music is good or bad and in what sense of those words are they good or bad. AGHH!!! Then I think to myself, why should I even care? Well, it does play a huge connection to my childhood which is the most precious memories I have right now. I just don't get her!!!!!!!!!
A Father At Last
A Father at Last
God is an awesome Father and I am so glad to call Him that. When I was only about one year old my parents split up and I went to live with my mother. When I was two years old my mom met my step-dad during a huge flood and they got together sometime after that. So for the rest of my life I questioned the influence of a father in my life. I didn't get to see my dad very much and my mom kind of advocated against him a lot. With me being a child I tended to take her side a lot. My step-dad was an unreasonable man who was pretty harsh on my as a child. He thought he was using tough love to shape me; actually he was just making me hate him more. He took care of me, and I guess he loved me, but he never showed it to me, and I guess he didn't know. I grew up hating my step-dad and thinking that fathers aren't good people. My mom and my older brother were the only people I think that really cared for me and took care of me.
I am older now and I do realize that my step-father was looking after me, but I still don't feel his love, nor do I see it. I still don't see him as a true father, because I can't. I still think that the way he raised me and my brother was all wrong and how it may have taught us some good things, it also taught us a lot more bad things. I ended up learning a lot more from my true Father than my step-dad.
That's why when I became older and more attached to God I started taking Him in as my Dad. He raised me, taught me, and mostly cared for me and kept me safe. Don't get me wrong. I do a have a place for my mom and dad and my step-dad. But God did more than anyone could ever do, and He loved me more than anyone. He knows how to raise a son. And He gave His Son for me. I don't deserve that, but I love Him for it. He comforts for me always. Whenever, I have trouble, I talk to God and He helps me get through it. He has allowed for me to cope with living with a stranger, and growing up in a strange city.
However petty this may seem, my freshman year I went to our winter dance and I asked a girl to that dance. She said we would meet up at the dance, considering we were just friends we wouldn't do the whole dinner thing first. I sat on the stairs at the dance for the whole night and she never showed. I wasn't angry at her that night just sad. So I called my mom to come pick me up and I walked out side where, guess what, it was raining. But I guess I didn't care. I went home got cleaned up and went to bed. As I was lying down I decided to turn on the radio and there was a song playing, and the song said to just forget about my worries and sleep them away because God has my back and He loves me. That's what I needed that night. God's love made me sleep so well that night. I couldn't believe that God would do so much for me.
This is why I have adopted the verse Psalm 34:18 as it says "The Lord is close to the broken-hearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Psalms 66 also talks about his as it talks about caring for the fatherless. He is awesome, but He is also love.
Please Read This One
You know what the saddest thing is for me? I have a lot of friends. They are all really close to me and we are great buddies. We know each other very much and we help each other through problems. There is a group of us that comfort each other and love each other. We care, worry, hug, etc. I know I sound emotional right now but all this is true.
I remember our freshman year when we all kind of met up. I've known all of them before this so it was just our uniting that made this whole thing special. I met Danielle and Kristine when I first moved here in 6th grade. I don't know if they were good friends then but that is when I met them. We didn't talk much throughout middle school, but it was a good time. The first time I met Katy was in 8th grade during the FC3 thing, and even though we were in seperate groups we talked a lot in that class. She was really fun, and really funny, she made me look forward to first hour. I met Keely in 8th grade too, although we didn't really talk at all. It was during Mock Trial and we were on two seperat teams, so we didn't even converse.
Then we all started high school, that big scary thing. A giant building that was filled with over two thousand people and they all try to navigate the halls at the same time. ACK!!! It was in my second hour class that I sat next to Keely during LA. Michael kind of got us talking since we were both friends with him. She was a strong atheist and I was just starting to wander around what my faith was all about. We had completely seperate views and I remebered we could spend hours just discussing what we were trying to figure out. I swear we could have solved world hunger if we put our heads together (and worked together actually.) We didn't ever fight though. We kind of just argued. I had third hour with Katy, Wellness I. We didn't really know anyone else in that class so we hung out a lot and we talked. Nothing seems special but I could find myself weaving into her life. Next thing I know I'm hanging around all of them after school at their locker and we'er this group of people.
Steven kind of falls into this mix too. I've known him since 6th grade too, but we've had a different type of friendship. We almost always included each other in everything, but we weren't close, just tight, if that makes any sense at all. Anyways, we were great friends and had a lot of the same interests and I would consider him one of my best friends too.
I guess I haven't really answered that question at the beginning, have I? Well the scariest thing for me is thinking about heaven and going to meet with my Saviour. What a great time I will have, but...what about my friends. Will I have to endure knowing that they are screaming in pain and anger, writhing in hateful flames for all eternity? NO. I can't have that. I won't let these people die like this. I love them too much to know that they are going to Hell.
If one of these people is reading this I pray with all my heart that you will listen to the words of my Teacher and do what He says. I can't stand seeing you in the lake of fire. It pains me too much. If you are anyone else I ask one thing of you. Could you pray for the salvation of these people for me? Even if it is just one time, I need all the help I can get, and...I know your prayers are heard by Him. Pray for Keely, Katy, Kristine, Daniell, and Steven. I can't seem them go from me in the state like this.
Just Kill Me Now
The first time I listened to "Deathbed" by Relient K I totally hated it. I thought it was the worst song Relient K had ever made, and everytime it came up on my iPod I skipped it. Well there was a problem with this. When I ripped the CD onto my iPod it got messed up and cut off towards the end. That's why I hated the song. I thought it was sad, depressing, and pointless. What is Relient K doing? Trying to make me suicidal or something?
The song talked about this man, the speaker, who lived his life in a pretty sucky state. He started off with sad stories of war that he found out very young were untrue, and that his father died at an early age. Then he says that he got addicted to alcohol and cigarettes for this whole life and never stopped until now. Now is during the chorus when he is in bed and he knows that he will die that night, and he can't believe that was his life.
Then the second verse comes by and he talks about how he got married at 21 because he got his girlfriend pregnant and her dad forced them, at the barrel of a gun, to get marrried, and then she would run off with some other man, took the kid, and he would realize he had never been loved. So he spent the rest of this life as a lazy bum, bowling and drinking his life away. And the chorus comes out again and he is dying. Whopee, what a great image.
And that is where my iPod cut it off. Yeah, wouldn't that sound great, to listen how this guy had a degrading life and that was it. WHERE IS THE MESSAGE IN THAT?!?!???! Lucky for me I decided to listen to the CD one day and I forgot to skip this song because I was busy doing something, and then it got to the third verse. And my whole idea about this song changed.
In the third verse he says that as he is dying that night Jesus stopped by and talked to him. He said He was there to carry him home and that he was going to go somewhere where he could live a better life, but He wanted him to think about his life before he left. He wanted to emphasize the point where the speaker accepted Christ and all those bad things he did were now forgiven because Jesus had died for him, and Jesus understands his pain. After that he he realizes that he was dead and looking back at his deathbed, and then Jesus carried him home and he was the happiest man ever.
Walking In The Dark
You know as teenagers we don't, most of us hate that dreadful question "What are you going to do after school?" or "what do you want to do for a living?" or something along those lines. It's we just don't really know what we want to do. There are so many things to consider. What school do I want to go to? How much money do I want to make? Where do I want to live? How stable is the job? Who and when am I getting married? How many kids do I plan on having? Should I go with the red dress or the black one? These questions are crucial in answering the first. (Except maybe the last one, but it's still a difficult decision.)
Now wouldn't you know, the most important question that influences it is: What does God have for me? and How will I know? It's kind of hard to tell. He has a plan we just have to be patient and follow His will according to His will and we will find it.
Please don't overlook this question. If you do you may end up miserble or walking around a desert for forty hears are something like that. My suggestion is to start off with the right foot. How you do that depends on who you are? I might start off with a year at Bible college to get things in a strong allignment so that college doesn't rattle my foundations, because it will do that.
Can I give you some advice? (And I know this might be hypocritical but I'm not the only one advocating for it) Don't be afraid. God doesn't always lead us down the happy trails, he takes into the dark sometimes into scarey places. We need to be faithful, and He will lead us out of that darkness stronger than before. You want to know the best part though. It WON'T be uneventful. Our lives are going to be an adventure, just like the ones you see on cartoons and in video games. Something unexpected is going to come our way and we are going to call on God and we together will get through things. Exciting isn't it? Our entire lives are going to be this huge adventure to finish some master plan that He has in store for us. I can't wait!!
Richard Scarey's Adventure
Two years ago around May a few of my friends took a long trip to the south end of the world. They spent months getting ready for this trip and everything it might hold. It wasn't actually the end of the world but the southern hemisphere. They went to Lima, Peru. They left the day of my birthday too, which made me even sadder. They were gone for two weeks and I guess it was a huge adventure for them. They told us of the stories that happened while they were there.
They went all over, looking at lots of sights, mountains, the ocean, and they bought tons of cool things there made of llama wool that they brought back and showed us. But the more important thing is that they were allowed to stay with families and help missionaries build churches (or actually tear down bricks to build a chruch), and help spread the Gospel to children all around. It was a pretty touching story. Sounded like fun and it was such a great ministry. I wanted to go next time around. Unfortunately, our pastor had to leave us the year after that and so that oppurtuity hasn't come up again.
Last summer, I went to camp just to camp there, (I wasn't working this time) and our morning speaker was talking about his missionary trips to Venezuela I think. He was telling us about the people he met, and how they were so touched by their help and so attentive to what they were saying to them. He also explained the conditions that they were living in down there, and it made me sad that people were forced to live like that. I wanted to help them.
Also last summer, (during one of the weeks I WAS working), we watched a video about missionaries in Europe. It explained the troubling times that missionaries in Europe were having outreaching to people. You see, in poverty countries like Venezuela the people are so despereate they willingly accept the Gospel all around, but the people in Europe are so comfortable and well off they don't see a need for the Gospel. They believe that they live fine the way they do so God isn't relevant in their lives. Europe was in desperate need for missionaries who were persistent to help out in these countries. It seemed like a difficult journey, but with great rewards, as they showed one of the few videos of a saved man expressing his joy in the Lord. I felt so sad for those people, I wanted to help them too.
Wouldn't you know as I was entering my junior year in high school people are asking me what I want to do with my life, and seriously I have no idea. I think though, "Is God putting a heart in me to be a missionary?" Right there, the other half of my heart dropped. That was the scarriest thing I could ever think about. I can't imagine how I could do that. And I'm still unsure if God just wants me to help, or actually do it. I'm still a junior so thins aren't actually figured out yet. But if this is that, I have a very scarey adventure coming up.
Let's Celebrate the Love
I was sitting in my physics class the other day, oh and by the way it was February 14th in case you care, and one of my friends asked my monotonous teacher, "What are you going to do for Valentines Day?" She wasn't interested in him or anything so you with sick minds need to cut it out. He responded to her, "We don't celebrate Valentines Day." I was appauled. Why that is cruel and should be illegal. But his answer is what changed my mind. "We don't need a holiday that was created for business to say we love each other."
Ok, fine. I guess that is a pretty valid argument. Why should have to wait so long just to love your special someone. That doesn't make sense. I think that could cause some problems in a lot of mairrages. Then that made me confused. Does that mean that Valentines Day is totally and I should ignore it all together. (Just to make things clear, I didn't mean be a scrooge for Valentines Day and hate everybody for it, just not participate in it.) I don't like this idea because I want to do good things for other people, but he is right in saying that I shouldn't need a holiday to do that.
I think I have a theory on this matter. I do believe that the reason why Valentines Day was created wasn't in the interest that most people are thinking. Christian Rock plays into this argument too. Just because the roots are evil doesn't mean it can't be unrooted and be used for something good. Maybe if we just change our aspects on the whole Valentine's Day thing we can get more people interested, those single and those not.
I think that instead of using this day to love our significant other we need to just celbrate love in general. We should celerate all kinds of love in every way. Just like at Thanksgiving we celbebrate gratefulnes, and Christmas we celbrate giving (and the best Gift ever), and so on. We should celebrate love for spouses, friends, enemies, all sorts of love. And especially we should celbrate God's unconditional love. That's IS the best love ever after all.
I think our family kind of all ready does this. I know that my parents have a different love between them than between us, but we still try and do something special for them, because we love them and that is a day for love. So come on people, let's celbrate the love!
I Cried
I Cried
Side note: If you haven't read my post "Break My Son" then you should do that beforehand as this post won't make as much sense otherwise. For those of you that have read that last post please enjoy, and if you still wish to read this post and you haven't read the last one, you enjoy it too.
If you listen to Danny Oertli he really has some neat stories to tell. Probably my favorite is his story in "Mommy Paints the Sky." It's all around beautiful in every sense you can think of. I believe it was our last night at Denver and we were surprisingly closer to the stage that night so we could actually see the speaker and not have too look at the bright fuzzy screen to see our worship leader actually singing.
Anyways he was starting to play this song just on his acoustic while he told us the story so that you could hear the sad song in the background. It was just like you saw in a movie or something when a dramatic scene happens and the background music plays and it only emphasizes the moment.
Danny has a softer voice and it's pretty high for a guy so he sounds like this cool guy who just goes on carefree in life but he's got quite a past to him. He told us that his wife had cancer for a while and that it was a heredity thing and so they were trying all they could to stop it. By this time I think that they had one adopted child and one little girl born of her. God had helped them by getting rid of the cancer without any chemotherapy. Isn't God great?
A few years later he and his wife were on this big trip to Chicago and I think he was the worship leader there too, and they had a babysitter at home watching in the children. On their flight home they stopped somewhere and decided to call the babysitter and see how the kids were and everything was great. I remember him telling us that his wife looked more beautiful that night than ever before.
When they finally got to Denver his wife wasn't feeling so well, and he quickly rushed her to he hospital only fearing what was to come. His wife's cancer had come back. Sadly enough it had taken her life that night. And now her little girl was going to go without a mother.
The story gets better as years later he gets remarried to a wonderful wife and they have a boy together who is just a little kid. So at this point he has three children all with different mothers in his house. I think that is a little awkward. SO, one night he was driving his minivan home with his girl and his baby boy because his wife had the other boy. It was somewhere in the middle of autumn because you could see the tree's changing colors of gold, deep brown, and fiery red. He also said that it was later at night because the sky was starting to change colors too. In his song he described the golden stripes on the purple and red sky that morphed into one radiant sun in the center. He said they stopped on a hill on the way home and watched the sky as it changed colors throughout that evening just him, his girl, and his baby boy sitting in the grass watching a sun set on the hill.
As he was sitting there his girl asked him, "Daddy?" He looked over at her as she gazed at the sky and he could see the violet clouds in her big eyes, and he said "Yeah?" She answered, "Do you think God let Mommy paint the sky tonight?"
"When You Look at the Stars"
So how many of you have actually sat on the grass at night underneath a big clear sky and watched the stars? I don't remember the last time I did. I think I need to soon because it is really a humbling experience. Think of all the things God created, this whole universe, and how small we are compared to this and how small the universe is compared to God. WOW!
This summer, when I was working at camp, the guys in our cabin were going through a common theme where we were humbled by God's awesomeness and one of the big things that hit us is what God created out there, just to glorify Him. Those stars are probably the biggest thing we know. It's amazing that those things are so majestic are giving praise to somethine even higher.
We watched a movie that summer, and I don't remember who the speake was, but it was a speaker at a Chris Tomlin concert during his "Indescribable" tour. Acutally that is what he was talking about. He was explaining just how Indescribable Christ really is using those great stars out there that glorify Him. I remember he was using a lot of pictures that NASA had taken of stars and galaxies out there that they had received. Some of these places were absolutely huge compared to us. Gosh, our solar system is itty bitty compared to our galaxy and there are bigger galaxies out there right now. It's amazing.
We really are miniscule if you have to think about it. So many statistics and math has been run to show that our earth is like a penny compared to the ocean when we compare our planet to other galaxies. So what are we compared to that penny. I can't even comprehend that. And God is even bigger than all of that combined together. AGHA!!! That's big, and we're small. Probably the most amazing thing that he showed us in that clip was the picture of the X galaxy. I tell you that's no X in that galaxy, that's a cross. It's definately glorifying Him. That's one of those things that just puts on the floor and makes you say "GOD YOU ARE AWESOME, Your Are Lord, you are my God...and I love You."
Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs
Chuck Klosterman is an interesting fellow. If you don't know who this guy is I guess I will tell you. He's a essayist and columnist who, I think, currently writes for SPIN magazine with some publication in Esquire as well. He has written a total of four books that were compilations of his essays of which he is most known for "Sex, Drugs, and Coco Puffs." I was able read a few of his books for my Language & Compistion class in school. Along with reading Coco Puffs I also read Fargo Rock City. Just to get one thing straight I do not reccomend this author to people who are emotionally unstable or easily offended.
Anways, my time with Klosterman was definately deserving of a chapter in my life. When I first started reading Klosterman I got a strange sense of "this wasn't really written for me was it." And I was right! The majority of Klosterman's work is devoted for adults who enjoy reading about the old heavy metal bands that they used to rock out to all nite, as KISS would say. He would probably use the term, Generation Xers somewhere in here, considering he almost seems proud of the fact he is one.
A big problem with Klosterman though is that he has the huge extensive knowledge of pop culure to a point I have never seen before. The names he comes up with sometimes boggles me about how he could know anything about so many people he hasn't even met. It makes it very dificult to read his essays when he makes a million and one analogies to people I have never known about and hopefully never will. It can almost make you feel kind of stupid that you can't get his analogies (and half of his jokes for that matter.)
He is a pretty funny guy though, even if I don't get them. I understand he does make some people laugh a lot more than me, and definately recognize that he jokes a lot and isn't serious most of the time. (I say this because of the unresolved argument with a friend on his seriousness.)
I think how he makes some things funny is by over analyzing a lot of things that young adults these days know or loved or are just now getting into. I know he makes a big rant on the Sims, John Cusack, Breakfast cereal, tribute bands, metal bands, heavy metal bands, the diffrence between the two, every other type of bands, the essence of bands, the essence of the difference between word usage for bands, and many other things like that. But you have to realize that most of what he says is irrelevant, doesn't matter, comletely over analytical, and sometimes not even relating to the topice he is writing about. You can tell when he does that because he the startst the next paragraph "ANYWAYS."
So, if he recognizes his tangentialness in this writing why doesn't he fix it in the revision process? Why is being overanalytical? Where does he get most of the people he talks about too? Where does he get off dissing John Cusack? Who is John Cusack? Why am I being overanalytical of Chuck Klosterman? To demonstrate?
OK. Now I have discussed Klosterman you may be a little confused on the point of this post, but there is none. I merely wanted to introduce to you an author I experienced just a little while ago and then adivse to not read him: that is except for the 23 questions that I do encourage you to read, but not read. That is I don't want you to read some of his questions as they have objectionable content. SO, in this I will not post a link to his 23 questions because that would be too tempting. No, I warned you so now it is your own fault if you go looking and you become offended. Have good time.
"Workin' for a living"
Has you are anyone asked you what kind of music you like? Has anyone or yourself said "Pretty much anything but country music. I HATE country music." If you can answer yes to the second question then I have a postie for you.
First of all I would like to ask a simple and discreet question:
WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!?!?!?!??!?!???!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!??!?!???
Let's go into a little more detail.
I really don't see a reson that if you like any music you can't like country too. Country is one of the most fun types of music you can come across. Dancing to it is fun. Have you ever tried square dancing? It's really fun and really simple. Something you can definately get into. I encourage you to try it.
The other thing that I think get's on people's nerves is what they sing about. Most people have this stereotypical impression thay country is just about "our dog died" and "living on a ranch." Acutally that is completely wrong. Country music actually just sings about everyday ordinary normal things. I guess people just don't like to be reminded of their lives when listening to music. But country people do, and why is that? My theory is that country people love their lives and the simple pleasures that come with it. In fact, they live only for those simple pleasures. They don't dream for everthing, just for what is realistic, and then they make it come true. They are very satisfied people who find enjoyment just through living, and county fairs.
That is why their music is so great. It reflects simple living. And wouldn't you love to live something like that. Almost carefree and nothing brings you down. Their are so many things to enjoy, so why don't we? Country music is definately valid type of music that most people should attempt to try out.
(P.S. if my argument sounded stupid, I apologize, but you should still consider country anyways, ok?)
Rigor, Rigor, Rigor
These are the words of our counselors as they attempt to keep our attentions. They are trying to teach us how the education system works as we sign up for next years classes. Of course, the majority of the student body either has an iPod, cell phone, or homework out and is completely ignoring the power point as we sit in our big black chairs in the big black room.
Well, those words describe my life right now. Last year was my first AP class. World History. (Which by the way was one of the best classes at my high school.) Well, it changed my work ethic for sure. All of a sudden I had to start studying a lot more and acutally start working to get good grades in high school. You know, if you figure it out, a lot of school classes in this world can just be winged to get a great grade. Well, not AP classes.
I thought I had lost my social life that year because I had also acquired a job, started helping my church two days a week, and I was still being pretty lazy so it was a lot more difficult. But by the end of the year I had changed by attitude, did a little bit of work every night, got great grades, and dominated that course (and the exam. Big fat 4 for me.)
So when I signed up for classes last year I decided to take AP U.S. History too, and then since my LA was doing amazing I thought I could handle AP Language & Compistion as well, and then everybody tells me that AP Psychology is really easy so I decided to take to get a fourth year in Social Studies. And those are just three of the classes I am taking this year. UGH!!!!
This year has by far been the hardest year I have ever had in high schoo. (And I kind of expected it to be.) First term went by ok, and now second term is killing me. I can't keep up my grades anymore, and my goals are falling short. But if you could just think of the outcome.
These kinds of situations often teach people a lot of great skills for life. They teach how to manage time, and get things done. They teach people priorities, and juggling tasks. Overall, you obtain a better work ethic through trials. God talks about that too. He says that we will put us through trials to challenge us and that He will mold us into stronger being that way. I can see that in my life.
Last summer I was allowd to work four weeks at my church camp. By the end of the summer the camp director came up to me and told me that I did a great job that year and I had worked the hardest that I ever had. But you want to know a secret? I couldn't see a difference in my work. God must have done it. Isn't He a great God? He works in ways we can not see.
So guess what? I just signed up for those classes again for my senior year...and I'm scheduled for at least five AP classes. Wish me good luck? No, all I need is Him.
Break My Son's Heart Please
Last year I made my first ever trip out of Iowa. That's right, I have been stuck in this corn prison for 15 years and finally I am going to see the rest of the world...or at least Denver. So in April of 2007 we packed our bags and headed for our 14 hour trip across Nebraska and into Colorado to visit the Mile High City. What a wonderful time. I had nothing but fun on that trip and every minute was ejoyable.
The reason I was there was because my church decided to take a Bible Quizzing team to competition that year and I was asked to be part of the team. We spent every Thursday studying many of the lessons we learned that year and the Bible in general. So when April came around it was pretty exciting. We got there and I was shocked from the beginning. Being to see mountains up close for the first time was amazing. It was hard imagining the huge monstrous mounds. Then the city was spectacular too. I remember going in ther and seeing wavering skyscrapers, roller coasters, and a three story tall blue bear looking into large glass building in the first five minutes we were there.
Competition was great too. We, surprisingly, made it to the silver round which is awesome for noobs like us. But the greatest thing about being in Denver was the worship. I remeber the song leader was a local band that had a little of national fame, but still not well known or mainstream. His name was Danny Oertli. I loved his songs and especially the stories behind them. One in particular that stuck out in my mind was his song "Thought You Should Know."
It really challenged your thinking about how you pray. His story went something like this: He was in his son's room who was about a year old and he was praying for his son. Danny had already lost his wife, remarried with a new child and had an adopted child and this kid was the new one. Well, he didn't want anything bad to happen to his son considering that he would grow up with a wierd family background it could case some hindrence for him. We prayed for a bubble to be around his son that he would go through life without any pain or troubles and that everything would be a happily ever after. Right then he sweared he could feel Jesus there tapping him on the shoulder...and there he realized. He realized that he wanted his son to be broken, because when people are broken and humbled in life that is the time when they cling to the Word and God, that is when they find God and grow, that is when they realize that God is there to comfort us in the hard times and He will pick us back up. Psalms 34:18 is my life verse because of this.
Isn't that how we should also act towards ourselves? We can't ask for God to take us down the happy trail of life with the smiling lambs and the pretty butterflies. Sometimes He will take us through that dark place that doesn't have any light. But the great thing is that He will guide us, and we will grow stronger through Him. He puts us through trials. We can't pray for an easier time, we have to pray for the most difficult trials that we can bear with Christ. (Which is nearly everything.) So this is my prayer, "God, will you please put me through trials this summer and for the rest of the year and my life. God will you please test me, so I can show your strenght. You. Are. Awesome."
"Forget About Sex"
"What in the world is wrong with girls? Especially high school girls?"
Actually...nothing.
"You mean you like guys?"
No.
That's right I don't plan on dating any girl (or guy for that matter) while I am in high school. There is just no need for me to pursue a relationship that I have no idea where it is going anyway. So, why does everybody else want to do it. (Besides our natural sinful urge of sex, and the underlying meaning of sex pretty much everywhere and in everything.) Well, we sort of model after our parents and the teenagers that are older than us that we see on TV and secretly aspire to be. That's right, you all wanted to be Zack Morris when you were growing up. Just kidding, I don't actually know how many people have seen Saved By the Bell Actually that would be reading this. Anyways, the fact is that we are subliminally taught to date others starting at a young age.
For instance look at the two four year olds Mark and Lucy who play fun holding hands. Lucy is the only one who shows that she likes it but Mark secretly does. What do we do about this behavior? "Awwww. How cute," is probably our first reaction. Then we like them to get together more often since we see they get along better. In fact, some hyper-paranoid parents might actually attempt to keep them together till marriage. To get to my point, we are encouraging them that this attraction between male and female is a good thing and they should do it more often. Bad choice parents. (note: I am not encouraging the break up of several thousand four-year-old couples out there by parents means.)
We then look at the teenagers are dating a new person each week on TV and they are even more attracted to the opposite sex than before, even though we don't know why. Why are we constantly teaching kids that dating at extremely immature ages is an acceptable thing. Well, I guess it is in American culture, but if you were to think about it real hard you would arrive at something else.
First, as we are in high school we are still not technically adults. Nothing says that we are mature enough to date the opposite sex then. In fact, at this time is when our hormones are all out of whack, so who knows what our relationships are messed up too, and this alters our concept of what dating really is. Not to mentino, we are still not old enough to be able to date others. We have many other things in life we are still trying to figure out for example how to socially react to other people, what do we want to do for the rest of our lives, where do we want to go to college, our own self-identity. Learning what dating is at this age is almost impossible and our whole view is changed.
Secondly, if you think hard about it what is dating all about. Well, if you were to take it all the way back to Anglo-Saxon era and shortly after that all the way up till American culture was founded, it was originally called courtship. Courtship was when suitors, who were almost always male, "dated" other girls to find the one they loved and the one they were to marry. And this is how dating started. So the point is that dating is originally for finding your second half. And let's face it, if you're not ready to marry you're not ready to date.
The last one is a trippy issue that is fought between many people, christians and atheists and other's alike. If we are to date when our hormones are like this, and our image is tainted by the media, we WILL have temptations for anything and everything, just about. I want to stay pure for my future bride. I want to give her the best gift I could possibly give her someday and that is my virginity. I think that sex is not the most important thing in my life (it is only a benefit for my wife and loving her when that time comes) so experience is not an issue at all here. Plain and simple, sex before marriage is a bad thing.
Now I know that dating doesn't automatically lead to sex, but the temptation is still their and I would just assume to not dawdle in it. I've got enough on my plate as it is and I don't want to add to it. Now for you people who are under 20 years of age, I'm not saying for you to devote your life to celebesy now, I just want to tell you to think carefully when you decide to to start "dating" someone. You need to understand exactly what you are doing.
Get Away From the Big Fish Now!
Don't you just love listening to the radio? Turing it on everytime you get in the car, or get into your room. You play it while you do your homework, or just when you're writing blog posts. (Guess what I'm doing right now?) I love hitting the radio button and tuning into 89.1. So what song is playing? Awww man, not this one again.
Unfortuantely that is my reaction to most of the time when I turn on the radio. And you know what the problem is with this. It has to do with the social hierchy of mucic, and if you have no idea what I just said it has to do mainstream music. That's the music that the general audience just loves. And real music fantatics hate. Most Christian radio stations only really play the same 100 songs over and over again because that is what the general Christian audience likes. UGH!! I probably know the lyrics to every one of those songs. What is wrong with playing the variety of music and hearing stuff you've never heard all the time. That's what makes music great, right? Variety.
Please don't hear me wrong on this. I do like a lot of the 100 songs that are played over and over again. But when it is all that you listen to you really get sick of it. I want to hear something different once and a while. Unfortunately radio stations don't like that because the general audience (the audience that only tunes in once and a while) likes to hear the music they like when they tune in. So what about the rest of us. I guess we just crawl into a corner and go hysterical due to the brainwashed song listing that goes on. All. The. Time.
Lucky me, I have broken this auditory cycle, and I have found the magical cure that will help us cope with music again. Live on music die hards.
My first reccomendation is theBlast.fm. Amazing live radio station. It is an Internet live streaming music channel that plays hundreds of aritsts and thousands of songs. These songs are all christian and primarily alternative rock. I know isn't it a step off from all the sameness of your radio. And the best thing is that they minmally play anything considered mainstream. I love theBlast.fm. The last bonus is that their are minmal commercials and the commercials they do have only promote their radio. And you can't deal with that every once and a while?
My second reccomendatino is Pandora Radio. It is also a live streaming radio online...only you are the DJ, kind of. You get to pick an artist or song you really like and they will start playing songs a lot like that, non stop. And you get to say whether you like that song or not which will further shape what songs will start playing. Of course you don't get to pick exactly what you want to listen to but some of the songs do repeat, randomly and rarely. Also their is no advertisments in the middle of your music either. Oh, what sweet bliss. I love Pandora.
Well, I guess this wasn't some philosophical prompt, like my previous ones or future ones might be, but I do like to express my behavior on something like this, and give a few suggestions to those who are thinking like me, if there are such people. Hey...thanks for reading this.
Hypocrititcal Monkey
"So where do Christians get off hating everybody else in this world? Do they think that they're perfect...because their not. Christians don't have a right to hate other people in this world no matter who they like."
And you know what. They're right. Christians don't have the right to hate other people in this world. Just because we are saved does not mean we are perfect, and I hope you would realize that. Not for even one moment can you think you are above any person for any reason. And at the same time I can mention that Christians shouldn't make any judgements about other people of whether they are good people or not. My mom always gets on my case about overtrusting strangers I am. "Don't leave your car unlocked someone will steal it," and "don't leave your wallet on your desk someone will take it," and something like, "Don't tell the people at the checkout lane you social security number, you'll be liable for identity theft." O.K. Mom I get it, I trust people. But this doesn't mean that we should judge "someone" just because they steal your car, your wallet, or your identity.
You know what I really think a lot about though. What do Christians think of gay people, and how do they react to meeting a gay person. Do they hate them? Are they apathetic about them? Do they ignore them? WHAT IS IT?!??!!? (Seriously, I want to know what other Christians think about homesexual persons, so please leave comments about your views.) Here is a tough one too. How do you react to a Christian who claims to be gay? Isn't this kind of difficult to think about? I really don't understand it entirely and I would like to know more.
One thing I do know though is that God teaches us not to hate anyone for any reason. This is why I love the saying "Love the person, hate the sin." It tells me that I can love everyone but I can still hate what they do as a sin. You know my brother is just like this. He is a Christian and believes Jesus died for him and his sins and that He loves him and he has asked for forgiveness. Great news, right? Here's the problem: every other doctrine about his relationship with God is distorted. The people he hangs around with and works with twist the teaching of the Bible in order to make themselves not look so bad. Isn't that kind of creating your own god? I mean you have to change the rules in order to make you a better person but you won't change your lifestyle whatsoever, and because of this my brother is very confused. He thinks that now that he is saved he will do whatever he wants, regardless of God's will. It doesn't matter what God says because he is always a good person.
If you hadn't aleady figured out what my reaction it would have to go something along these lines.
"MAFJEPGFHEJEFJEOWELEFJ... WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?!??!?!?!?!??!?!?!???!?! WHAT IN GOD'S HOLY NAME HAS POSESSED YOU? SOMEONE GET ME A BIBLE WE ARE ABOUT TO PERFORM EXHORTATION!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Ok, it wasn't exactly like that, but you get that I was furious. The thing is that I wasn't furious at CJ I was furious at what he was doing. I still loved my brother...well like a brother. It goes the same with parents and their children. When a child does something wrong parents are angry with the child's actions, but they still love their child just as much, if not more, than before.
So is that the same way with our views on homosexuals? Do we still love them like brothers and sisters and dear friends, and possibly children and still hate their sexual orientation? How do we cope with our loved ones directly going against God's Word? It is all too much for me. Right now I can just avoid being a hypocritical monkey and love them for now, even though it pains me to see loved ones dying to sinfulness.
"No I don't hate them. I love them with more heart than anyone I know. And with all the might God gives me...I pray for them."
Playing With Life
Oh life is just a funny thing isn't it. And it becomes only funnier when we begin to play our lives. You know, get on the computer and start your life again for the day. If you havn't caught on yet I'm talking about the Sims. This is the game where you create your own little Sim which is the human of the game and then proceed to live life. You can look for a job, make billions of friends, and you can go shopping in the largest catalog ever for everything your Sim could ever want. So...what's the point? Is it just to live life again. I'm not sure if Sim players acutally think about the underlying meaning of the Sims. (And believe me their is one.) I myself have fallen under the spell of this lifelike game merely on the point that it was fun, for a while.
I was reading a particular author for my Language & Composition class in school. His name is Chuck Klosterman, and he writes primarily essays about a variety of topics and discussions. He's completely over analytical about EVERYTHING possible and he has a lifestyle that is...well, let's just say I would never reccomend him to anyone. But none the less, I read some of this essays and he did the exact thing I am doing right now. He analyzed the Sims and it's promblems and it began my thinking process on this game acutally.
My problems with playing the Sims are that it is impossible to settle upon my goals and the unknown goals of my Sim. I want to be successful for my Sim, climbing the career ladder, obtaining enough cash to be well off, raise his skills to amazing levels. Of course, all he wants to be is happy: well fed, entertained, clean, etc. Now don't get me wrong I want him to be happy too, but everytime I try to aspire a little in my own goals he drops in his level of happiness. If I want him to read he drops in entertainment, if I want him to paint he drops in energy, if I want him to go running he just plain becomes depressed. Come on Sim why won't you work with me.
Then when I do get promoted so much on my social ladder I am required to make friends. "Make what?!!?!" I say. It never even came to my mind that I was required to socialize with other people, and what if my Sim won't socialize? Do you even know how long it takes to form a strong relationship? I can't do that on this game, that will take way too long. Ugh. But I guess it would be good for my Sim. Not that he cares.
Klosterman ends his essay really interestingly. He ends up realizing that in his idiotic efforts to get his Sim married he realized that he tortured his Sim to the point of no return. That it was filthy, depressed, hungry, dying probably, maybe suicidal, who knows. So he makes a dramatic effect that he will let his Sim do whatever it wants now and then dramatizes his decisions to click the option button and check "Freewill."
You know I think that is the problem with my Sim. He only sees the short term effects on things. He won't and can't put himself through problems and be happy because he knows that in the end it will be better off in the end. How selfish can a Sim be? But then again this could be a great lesson for us. Nobody aspires to be a Sim someday, so that means we shouldn't be like that. We shouldn't procrastinate and we should realize what greater things await us if we just wait and stick it through.
Meet My Friends, Chuck
Shoes actually are the piece of clothing that can tell you most about a person. If you think about it, shoes have the more variety and creativity than any other article of clothing. That is probably why I like them so much. You taught in school that you shouldn't judge people by their outer appearances, and I support that, but that doesn't mean that what you wear doesn't say something to others.
If you didn't already know, my favorite type of shoe is Converse. Particularly Chuck Taylors are preferable. The reason is that they prove my point about shoes all-around. All different kinds of people wear Chucks all around. It doesn't matter what kind of person you are you can find a type of Chuck that you like.
This is because the graphic designers at Converse make so many types of designs everyone is bound to find a likeable pair. In fact this is Converse's motto. They are obsessed with the idea that everyone's shoes are unique to that single person and contain all the character you do. This is true because when Converse.com comes up with a design they normally don't keep it up for more than one or two months. (Hint: if you find a pair you like buy it quick before it goes out.) And they are constantly coming up with new ones to replace the old ones only keeping the most basic ones. This goes to the fact that everyone has an individually different shoe. It goes farther as their logo is the thumbprint, the thing that makes all of us an individual.
And even when owning similar pairs of converse they still become unique to everyone through their experience and the story they tell. For instance, three out of the four pairs of Chucks I own I know somebody else who owns one. But my shoe is significantly different. My original black and white low tops are pretty popular among many feet, but my shoes have holes in all spots due to the rigorous work at IRBC camp, the white has turned to yellow, I have ripped a mouth on the heel of my right shoe, and all the members of Superchic[k] have signed it also. Nobody has shoes like that but me. Each shoe has a story.
In this I encourage you to do something. Next time you see somebody wearing a pair of Chucks: 1) tell them they have awesome shoes and 2) if you somewhat know them ask them the story behind their shoes. Some people will have millions and some may only have one. But I assure you, you can find at least one story. As the commercials would say: "Unique shoes only for you… priceless."
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