So busy

First time I have had time to actually go on the computer, which isn’t a bad thing, but that also means that I haven’t worked on applications and homework. Oh well. Looking forward to tonight, and the next day, and the next day, and even the next day. Merry Christmas =D

Yes, my grandma got me a Turtle Lamp.

And it is amazing. One of my favorite birthday presents ever.

Google Voice: another reason I love Google

Ahhh... Winter Break. I wish I could enjoy you more.

My work ethic is nothing compared to that of Hallie.

Well...

I did the hard math (though not actually difficult) and it comes out I may have a possibility of actually still getting an A, but it still upsets me that I did so terrible. But should I really? I mean, it is a reflection on how little I heed directions or pay attention and how much more I should be studying, but it is just one grade. A superficial reflection of performance. I mean there are reasons colleges ask for recommendations from teachers and not just their transcript. On the other hand,  “whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” - Colossians 3:17 I have been given an opportunity to participate in Academic Decathlon and doing poorly in it is not giving thanks to God. I am not saying that you cannot ‘fail’ for Jesus, nor that getting an A is doing it in His name, but I don’t think that Jesus wants me to half-donkey it. He wants me to full-donkey it. (I have been waiting to use that =P ). In being in Decathlon I need to be an image of Christ in all manners, and I believe my work ethic is a part of that.

Well… I guess I should stop being a hypocrite and study and finish the homework for my Psych final tomorrow.

Ugh...

I hate how the class I actually spend the most time working on I get a B in. I do barely anything in the other classes and get As, but this one I fail the final because not that I didn’t study, but because I forgot to study a certain thing. This was a major thing, but I just plum forgot. I expected it to be important, but it just left my mind.

This is what should happen in Calculus every day.

Oops!

Didn’t meet the deadline for a presidential scholarship for a college. Guess I’m not going there.

College apps are the devil

even if they are to a Chrisitan college.

kenleigh:

I just put all my classes into my iCal for next semester. :) I like feeling organized.

And I am trying to get into a religion class instead of taking statistics. I might as well make next semester 100% gen-ed free.

And I love being at home. Only one more final left on Wednesday, which means tomorrow I can pretty much just chill and do contact work at Pinnacle, hang out with the best friend before she leaves, then go to club. Freaking bomb!

Also, I plan on rearranging my room. My anticipated configuration is unfortunately kind of like my dorm room, but seeing as my room can be set up only 2 ways because of my lack of available wall space, it’s really just a weird coincidence. In any case, I am excited to do that too. I am in a really organizational mood and that makes me happy.

I suggest using Google Calendar if you have a Gmail because it can text you reminders if you want. It really helps me. =D

It is nice to know

that people remember my birthday.

My mom woke me and sang me the song before I could even realize it was that day. And then I got 2 texts right which warmed my heart and another 2 before I made it to school. When I got home there were 10 Happy Birthday’s on Facebook. Now I know from experience that people say Happy Birthday only because Facebook reminds them. Well as a partial test, I hid my birthday so no info could be found on Facebook about my birthday. So far I got 13 authentic birthday wishes, but maybe my mum’s shouldn’t count, so that brings it down to 12, but 2 people said it in person, and another 3 over phone, so that is at 17.

But it feels good knowing how sincere they are. =D

It is absolutely hilarious when my sister's dog, Angel, is looking right at me and then winks.

Sometimes I'm Just Really Stupid

For the past 2 days I had my camera with me and randomly took pictures and some good ones during math class. Then I went back to look at one I took and it said ‘no memory.” I was thinking, ‘how could that be,’ but then I realized earlier when I viewed the pictures it was right after them being there. I check the camera, and there is no card. Wow, I felt stupid. The camera was just taking photos, and showing them on the screen for a few seconds.

And then to finish it off I accidentally break the camera (my mom’s) by having it in my pocket without a case. No pictures and a broken, very nice, camera. Ouch. =(

Fun Fact

kenleigh:

dexhere:

In Philosophy Club most people raised their hands in saying that they would hypothetically take money to allow a person to commit adultery with their newly married spouse. One person who didn’t said, “So you are putting a price on adultery?”       Then a second question of, “Would you take 10 million dollars if someone you didn’t know had to die?” (Like that movie where they just push the button), and that same guy who was against the adulterous act raised his hand for this along with many others. The honor of a marriage is priceless, but a human life is not, wow. Pretty much everybody also said in the hypothetical situation of somebody coming into the classroom, putting a gun to their head, and telling them to pick somebody to die, that they could pick somebody out to take their place as the victim.

This all stemmed from the discussion of ‘human value,’ or the idea of one life being more valuable to another. You could say that we came to the conclusion that it really is completely relative, but a absolute true value would have to come down to either incalculable or equal.

If you are in AP english with Butler this year…oh man…let me just say you are going to be hearing a lot about human value. I hope it is better for you than it was for us. Good luck.

Yes, I have her next semester. Are these values brought about by discussion or from Mrs. Butler degrading us. I think it’ll be better cause her son won’t be in there this year.

I am missing something.

mackenzieyourfriendzie:

dexhere:

Exodus 32

²⁵ Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. ²⁶ So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the LORD, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him.

²⁷ Then he said to them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’ ” ²⁸ The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. ²⁹ Then Moses said, “You have been set apart to the LORD today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.”

How can God, the same God that is the loving Jesus, command such a random killing of the people?

The answer space didn’t have enough characters.

I’m going to give you the limited view of this, which has partly been learned from my class which is Exodus/Deuteronomy, and partly my own little spin. I recommend you read with a bible right next to you, so you can look it up as I go through. Here goes.

Pre-killing, Moses was getting ready to go to the Mountain of God, where God would give him His laws. The Israelites, being the stupid people they are, thought it would be good to turn on God multiple times already.

• When God was sending Moses to save them, they followed him at first, but as soon as Pharaoh increased the workload, they cried out against God.


• God did these sweet miracles for the Israelites, also known as the plagues, and when they finally got to the Sea of Reeds to cross, they cried out, asking why God had led them into the wilderness to die.


• God parted the Sea of Reeds, and they crossed, they sang songs of ecstasy and joy (Ex. 15:1-21) and then, in verse 24 “grumbled against Moses, saying, ‘What are we to drink?’”


• God made the bitter water sweet, and then in chapter 16 they complained about not having food.


• God sent manna and quail for them to eat, and they were full, then they quarreled with Moses yet again, saying “Give us water to drink” (Ex. 17:2). God gave them water.

So these are the instances that precede this little extravaganza that you have read about, so the Israelites aren’t exactly a flawless people up to this point. In Chapter 19, at Mount Sinai, Moses prepares to go up the mountain to receive the law. There is an ominous black cloud hovering over the mountain, with thunder and lightning (Ex. 19:16). This cloud was there to basically show the Israelites who was boss. You may be saying, they’ve already seen all these miracles, and they’ve grumbled but been saved, why should God prove himself in a cloud? I’m not exactly sure, but I do know that God is once again making it apparent that He is in control of things. No one except Moses is even supposed to touch the mountain, or he will be stoned or shot with arrows (Ex. 19:12) This mountain is where the presence of God is. This mountain is a scary place. The Israelites were shaking in their sneakers (Ex. 19:16). Then Moses leaves the people, and goes up to talk to God. The first words God says are, and I quote, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other Gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.” (Exodus 20:2-4) In Exodus 20:23 is says plainly, “Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or of gold.”

So then we get to chapter 32. What does Aaron do? He makes a golden calf. This golden calf he tries to pass off in verse 5 as the Lord, which would be breaking the command in Ex. 20:4 for the people, but it was originally intended as a god on its own by Aaron, which is a violation of Ex 20:3. So the first two commandments are broken by the leader-in-absence of the Israelites because the real leader is gone for 40 days. Not good. The Israelites didn’t really get it.

(Incidentally, this may never have happened if Moses didn’t avoid God’s first call to Egypt, because God may have been intending to heal his speech impediment, but when Moses refused, he sent Aaron with him. And Aaron was the one who made the golden calf.)

(Another incident. In the following verses of Exodus 32, Moses has the opportunity to have a great nation made out of him, but he refuses. He even offers to have his name removed from “the book you have written” (Ex. 32:32). This marks a stark contrast from him before the burning bush, when he was refusing to lay his life on the line for his people in their oppression. Spending time with God really does change you.)

So now Moses gets back, and tells them “WHOEVER IS FOR THE LORD, COME TO ME.” By refusing this call, have not those running around made a choice to not be for the LORD? If they have chosen this, then are they not against the LORD, and standing in His way? They have been given many opportunities, and it has been shown to them many times. This was the last straw, and it wasn’t even a petty thing.

So if there was any argument that they didn’t know what they were doing, it should be gone when you read what Aaron says to Moses in verse 24. He basically lies to Moses’ face about the calf, saying “Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire and out came this calf.” Aaron knew he was wrong, and even though he was in charge, he didn’t have any special knowledge apart from the people. They all knew it was wrong, yet they did it anyways.

So there it is. The Israelites, after many chances to do right, many signs, and many miracles, screwed up again. God said something about wiping them out and fulfilling his promise through Moses only, but Moses pleaded on the Israelites’ behalf. If you think about it, this fate isn’t too bad of a deal? 3000, as opposed to everyone? I think God was pretty merciful.

And if that didn’t sell you on it, how about this. In the bible, Murder is responded to with capital punishment. Extreme value is placed on human life, compared to other laws of the time, like Hammurabi’s Code, but there were still laws that were punishable by death. Striking and killing another man intentionally, attacking one’s father or mother, kidnapping another and selling them, cursing one’s father or mother. And that’s just in Exodus 21. (Did you catch the cursing one’s father or mother? Is God Israel’s father? Yes.)

In Deuteronomy, basically Moses’ farewell address to the people of Israel as he is about to be taken away and die or whatever it is he does, he reminds the people what they should know before entering the promised land. In Deuteronomy, he gives them the shema, which is still used in jewish services today. It is Deuteronomy 6:4-5, where Moses said, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the Lord is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Shema is the Hebrew word for hear, so in Hebrew, the first two words of this are “Shema Yisrael,” which translate as “Hear, O Israel.” Interestingly enough, Hear and Obey are the same word in Hebrew, so it could also be translated as “Obey, O Israel.” This Shema isn’t light stuff, and it’s meant to be obeyed. The Israelites didn’t really do that when they were worshipping a calf they made of Gold. (Interestingly enough, God INSTRUCTED them to plunder the Egyptians, back-wages for 500 years of slavery, so they took the riches God gave them to make this calf. Talk about a slap in the face. That’s like using your allowance to go out and buy new parents.)

And if that’s not enough for you, how’s this example. You asked “the same God that is the loving Jesus” responding this way. While how about this. In Matthew 22:37-40, “Jesus replied, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heard and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greates commandment. The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and prophets hang on these two commandments.”” (Jesus was citing the Shema with his first reference, and the second one he cited Leviticus 19:18).

Basically, Jesus said that loving God was more important than loving your neighbor. If failure to uphold the “loving your neighbor” commandment was punishable by death, than who is to say that failing to uphold the “loving your God” commandment isn’t as well? And they were also leading their neighbors to sin, because each time they bowed down before the calf, or sang to it, there was pressure placed upon the others to follow the norm. Not only were they sinning against God, but they were causing others to do it.

That’s all I got on that right now though. I wish I remembered more from my Exo/deut class, but that’s all I have on the topic. Maybe I’ll be able to talk to my teacher on Friday and ask him, but that’s my last class period with him, so I can’t promise anything.

Muchas gracias. I am no longer missing something.

I am missing something.

Exodus 32

²⁵ Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. ²⁶ So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the LORD, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him.

²⁷ Then he said to them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’ ” ²⁸ The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. ²⁹ Then Moses said, “You have been set apart to the LORD today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.”

How can God, the same God that is the loving Jesus, command such a random killing of the people?

Really?!?!

Why do scientists/the media seem to always use the once ridiculed ideas to support theirs, such as: the theory of continental drift, the fact that rocks fall from the sky, the notion that the Earth revolves around the sun. Yet a belief that has been around for as long as human’s have existed and doesn’t contradict any science can in no way be true, according to many people. And yes, I am talking about God.

Fun Fact

In Philosophy Club most people raised their hands in saying that they would hypothetically take money to allow a person to commit adultery with their newly married spouse. One person who didn’t said, “So you are putting a price on adultery?”       Then a second question of, “Would you take 10 million dollars if someone you didn’t know had to die?” (Like that movie where they just push the button), and that same guy who was against the adulterous act raised his hand for this along with many others. The honor of a marriage is priceless, but a human life is not, wow. Pretty much everybody also said in the hypothetical situation of somebody coming into the classroom, putting a gun to their head, and telling them to pick somebody to die, that they could pick somebody out to take their place as the victim.

This all stemmed from the discussion of ‘human value,’ or the idea of one life being more valuable to another. You could say that we came to the conclusion that it really is completely relative, but a absolute true value would have to come down to either incalculable or equal.

Arg...

I was going to say something funny, but I completely forgot what it was. I think it was something my grandma said, but I can’t remember. ARG!!!

Rain+Robe

turned out all right. Love my Opa’s blue robe.

Light railing it

kenleigh:

So I want to visit my friend Ryan over in Tempe tonight and I took the light rail because I didn’t want to waste gas in my car and stuff. So I stayed until like midnight and then headed back. Well there were only a few people in the car I was in and there was one guy in the adjoining car. Well the adjoining car guy kept glancing over and it was weirding me out. So then he actually came into my car and sat down across from me and started chatting it up. It was super awkward. I think he was drunk and he introduced himself like 3 times. It reminded me of the “Hi I’m Tom” guy from 50 First Dates. And coincidentally this guy’s name was Thomas.  So after like 10 minutes 2 police officers came on the train to check passes and obviously they stayed on after that because they saw that the guy was being a creeper. They stayed on all the way until I got off which was really awesome. It made the guy seem a lot less creepy and a I saw the humor in the situation a little more. And the male policeman yelled at the guy for saying the F-word, which was awesome.  Anyways, the guy kept jabbering on about being an alcoholic and getting a ticket for walking across the train tracks and telling me how you shouldn’t drink because then the Devil and spirits take over your mind. It was super weird. I just started ignoring him after a bit, flipping through my Bible and saying “yep” every so often. And a couple minutes before I got off one of the other passengers came over and sat down and asked me if I was ok. Even though the police were there watching out and everything. It was such a genuine thing to do.

So that was my first crazy light rail experience. I really hope something like that never happens again. Next time: first car near the driver instead of the last one. More people ride there. I am exhausted now. I think I am going to collapse in bed with my normal clothes on. Yeah, I’m that tired. Goodnight.

My first time going on the light rail was in the evening with quite a bit of people on it and with my youth group, but there was this guy who had to at least be drunk and he threw candy at me from across the train. It was completely random and a piece of candy just hit me on the head. Took me awhile to find the source. Then when we got off he followed us for about 3 blocks, while foaming at the mouth. Very strange indeed.

I love how a 5.5 hour Key Club event can turn into 3.5 hours of working, 1 hour of lounging, .5 hour of eating, and 1 amazing photo shoot hour. So glad I brought a camera.

I haven’t been on in awhile. Unfortunately this is not due to my very busy life and me doing the very necessary things. Part of it was family time due to Thanksgiving weekend, which I have only recently discovered the amazingness of pumpkin pie so that was good to get a large intake. But I have ‘wasted’ countless hours on that unnecessary evil, Hulu. I was doing pretty good at just watching a few shows and keeping up with only those, but got myself addicted to two more shows which included over 3 hours of Better Off Ted and some time on Community. I think I have made progress but I still seem stuck in the same ol’ rut.

Yesterday I was making sure to actually listen to the songs I was singing, because sometimes it is easy to get caught in the motions and the repetitiveness and I really related to the song, “Today Is The Day.” The main part of the song is:

I’m reaching my hand to Yours
Believing there’s so much more
Knowing that all You have in store for me is good
Is good

Chorus:
Today is the day You have made
I will rejoice and be glad in it
Today is the day You have made
I will rejoice and be glad in it
And I won’t worry about tomorrow
I’m trusting in what You say
Today is the day

A few parts of this really hit me and served as a kind of goal and reminder of how I was supposed to live my life. First, I do know that “all [God] has in store for me is good,” so through the painful application processes to colleges and the myriad of scholarships and worrying about the future, I can gain peace in knowing that whatever will happen, whether I go to Northwestern or PVCC, God will be with me and has an ultimate plan. Second, the repeated phrase of “today is the day” gave me the reminder that every minute I have I need to be giving to God, that now is the time for salvation, now is the time to make sure I am sharing Jesus with the world because we don’t know God’s calendar. The final part relates to my first point in that I need not “worry about tomorrow” because I can trust in what God has said in his Word and in his plans for my life.
Side note - I sometimes hear that God wants us to live a “happy life”, which bothers me because it gives me the idea of a more carefree troublesome life, but that isn’t what God promises. In fact, he promises troubles and temptations, but he equips us with the tools to live right.
Side note #2 - I recently turned my iPod to the Newsboys on their older album, ‘Shine the Hits,’ which I totally forgot about for quite a few years and have gained a new appreciation for their songs. I haven’t listened to the newer Newsboys as much after they changed up their members, but I love their older stuff so much, especially “I Got Your Number” which is interesting musically, but the lyrics/theme is something so important, however basic, that many Christians may have forgotten. http://popup.lala.com/popup/576742231879459039

How to perfectly memorize a 4 minute speech

1. Get off the computer


2. Practice


3. Just do it


4. Stop procrastinating


5. Seriously, get off


6. NOW!!

Mini Vacation

Just glad to a have a half day followed by a day off. My mother is glad too; she shows it by giving me a big list of chores to do.

kenleigh:

This song is fantastic.

And Michael Buble isn’t bad himself. ;)

Well I didn’t even listen to the whole song, but I did notice that he is wearing Adidas Sambas (1:09), so in my book, he cannot be too bad.

Friday

Today was pretty amazing. Didn’t have to go to school because of Regionals for Cross Country. Left at 8 and came back at 1:20, but we were called out of school so I arrived late and left early. Had lunch at Chick-Fil-A with brother and dad. Love their milkshakes. Went to great memorial service. And finished off with Homecoming football game where I got to see a bunch of graduates, mostly from band. Got to see Kendra after so long even though we are often within 800m as she drives to and fro. Said bye to Kendra and others and left to home. =D

Bold what you've read, more than 6 you're good according to the BBC

mackenzieyourfriendzie:

teawithhoneydear:

onceuponathought:kerrieharlow:paulavaleria:littlejosephine:open-up-some-happiness:
lifeinfastmotion: hermajestyxx:sixtyfour: rockandroses:
longlivethequeen: littlenoirgirl: mylifeinabox: sunflowerbasler:
milochronicles: n8kelly:

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell.
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck.
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy.
48 The Handmaiden’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen.
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth.
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt.
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

I like this whole list idea. Now I know which books to pick up at the bookstore!
By the way, the italicized books are the ones I’m currently working on.

Oh and I don’t know why the heck The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne isn’t on here because it’s one of the greatest novels in the whole world.

I thought this was fitting because I finished The Life of Pi today, which is on the list. It was a really good book. I also realized how much I have read today. Really? We should have read 6? Out of 100?

yeah, I thought 6 was quite a small number. A few of these books I started and never finished, but not due to lack of interest, so now I want to go back and read them.

Responsibility

Well I found out today that I apparently have some very high expectations set of me. I hope I don’t come off pompous here, but a few people mentioned that I was ‘the smartest person they’ve met in high school’ and they expected me to go to a high prestige college or something like that. Though the people who know me a bit better know how much I slack and how stupid I can be. But I almost felt like I would be letting people down if I didn’t go to some crazy smart school and didn’t land a big job. I have never had high expectations from parents or family and a few teachers may have had them, but I crushed them quite quickly sophomore and junior year. On the other hand, I know that I don’t measure my success by going to a prestigious school or having a high paying job, but by how close I follow the Lord. Regardless, it was a good reminder that I have talents and gifts God has given me and I shouldn’t waste them. “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” -1 Corinthians 10:31 (NIV)

ACT

At least it is over. I am confident on the math section. I almost forgot what to do with sin(x)>.5cos(x). I just sat there for a minute until I realized, duh, divide! Finished with 11 minutes left and went back and changed 1 answer. I signed up for the extra writing component, but it went terrible. It went basically like this: “Adding the extra class would be bad for the students and it wouldn’t be good for them.” Yeah, it was ridiculous. But I’ll see the results in a few weeks. I am ready to do some mindless activities, especially eating since I haven’t eaten since before the test. I was even shaking a little during one of the parts.

mackenzieyourfriendzie:

(via greaterthings)

I sent this exact image around at school. When I tried showing it to the calc, the teacher thought it may offend some so she wouldn’t let me put it on the board.

Breathe

I have really been empowered and also humbled this week just remembering that God is just one breath away. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31) It is much harder to be discouraged or stressed when knowing that God is always there for me, with a plan for me; I’m just trying to figure it out as I go. In Hebrew, the word for spirit is the same as breath. It makes verses like Job 33:4 very interesting. “The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” Spirit and breath are so linked. Often I will just stop, take a deep breath, and talk to God or just remember who is in control.

I just got called

and have been informed of my acceptance into Northwestern College in St. Paul, MN. It wasn’t unexpected, but I just got home from the district meet and it was a very nice call to hear that after a long day. What I will actually be excited to hear is in late January/early February is if I am accepted into the Eagle Scholars Program which is equal to mucho dinero; it is the highest scholarship available at the school. That will require some time to apply to that, but luckily it is due in January, so I have time, but I should not procrastinate too much.

A Full Plate

I need to learn how to go for seconds instead of overfilling my plate thus being unable to eat all the food, allowing it to get stale and cold.

I have to run a race tomorrow, complete two videos, get a video’s audio into an MP3,(oxford comma) and order t-shirts through the school(something I do not know how to do). And then lets not forget the other video project I need to start and the 7 sections of math homework that I need to get done, though I can put that off until the weekend. And then I need to find and upload two sermons(preferably yesterday) while attempting to not get behind in Psych again(which cost me a B) or Academic Decathlon. Which reminds me, I need to type my speech up right now.

Great Weekend

I went to bed at 5 or 5 30 on Friday night and got about 13 hours of much needed sleep. Wonderful. Unfortunately that means I slept through supper and didn’t get the food or water that I needed for my race the next morning. It was ridiculously hot and I almost died. Took a nap then spent the afternoon with Rhod and went to his church’s youth night which was good. There is a video competition between the youth so that’ll be interesting. Visited Calvary this morning with Kaitlin. Its such a shock going to such a big church. There were so many kids!! More high schoolers than there are people in my Church. Then ate at Garcia’s with Kaitlin’s family. Garcia’s is amazing!! Food was delicious and I stuffed myself.

I loved having my siblings here this past weekend!! It was so great!!

XC practice

was bad today. I am still tired from yesterday’s meet which was so uphill plus a lot of loose ground. Pysch test tomorrow on the brain parts and neural systems. So many vocab words!!

kenleigh:

It is amazing how quickly I can go from calm to stressed.  I am super tired right now and I feel like I can’t focus on anything at the moment. It is my friend’s birthday tonight and I was going to go over to Tempe with a big group to eat at Chili’s and now I am stressing over getting homework done and I want to take a nap. AGH! I hate being one of those people who need a very large quantity of sleep to function. If only I could run on 6 or 7 hours like some people.

I know exactly how you feel. I will get away with some friends and then come back and be overloaded with work and the desire to sleep. I cannot keep myself from falling asleep in Psych when I get only 7 hours of sleep two nights in a row. It is ridiculous.

Do I

vote for what I think will be the better for the majority, or do I vote for giving people the full extent of their free will when it doesn’t directly harm others?

Dear speed radar cameras,

kenleigh:

I’m sorry if you are feeling some loss. Our relationship was short-lived, I know.  But seriously, you need to let it go.  Please stop scaring me with your bright, unexpected red flash.

The camera flashed at what appeared to be me again today.  It better have been directed towards someone else.  The speed limit was 65. I was going 63. Are you kidding me?!?! I think they have it out for me.

I feel like they set me up for ruin. On my way to the airport I was driving at 63 when the camera would flash at 65, but because I don’t have cruise control I just kept my foot at a steady angle. But the highway had a downhill that I didn’t pay notice too and caused me to go oh so slightly over. So silly. It was set up to catch people with older cars!!

Well I think

I use ‘haha’ too much. I add it in a little too much which may lessen the emphasis and meaning of it (kinda like swearing, or with any other word). I blame Kaitlin for the overuse.

Haha, I made an HD video by putting together consecutive photos of when my family had a photoshoot in MN. Fun day, but painstaking hours to get this video in HD. My excuse in TV Productions was that I was learning how Final Cut handled big pictures and how to properly get the HD format. =D

PS. Clicking HD will make it load slower, and if you do want to want to watch it in full quality and size (which is pretty awesomely big) you will need to go to youtube.

Night?

Apparently you can't be a Christian if you swear.

mackenzieyourfriendzie:

greaterthings:

mackenzieyourfriendzie:

Welcome to Azusa Pacific University, Mackenzie

i don’t think i will be accepted then?

haha well you can, there’s just people who don’t understand that Christianity isn’t about the words you use as much as the meaning of the words you use.

Not that they hate me. They just don’t necessarily see me becoming a youth pastor.

I know right? Like the high schoolers don’t freaking know what those words are? Seriously.

I sometimes have a problem with swearing and such. I am not condemning anybody, but there are a few reasons why I see swearing as unnecessary or innapropriate.

First, Stupidity. When it is excessive and used as adjectives in most sentences and then verbs in others, it just plain makes you look less intelligent. People are less likely to listen to or care what others are saying if they constantly repeat the same words, especially swear words. This is especially pertinent in business and school settings I think.

Second, Overuse. Swear words are meant to show intense feelings, right? But if used often, not necessarily every sentence, but often, then the effect of the word is lost. So simply, using swear words can have the opposite effect then may be intended. If I were to angrily swear around people I knew, then they would know that something is wrong cause I don’t really swear. Other times if you want to place emphasis with a word like ‘damn’, like, “That was a damn good movie!,” then it would lose its power over time if you described most things with “damn.”

Third, Anger. If you do use swear words for emphasis, particularly in anger, then there are a few things that Christians should keep an eye out for. If we are yelling at people “Damn you!” “Go to hell!” or “Shut the fuck up!” then we are obviously being angry at a person which is usually not appropriate. When we are angry we shouldn’t let it spew out in deconstructive words that can potentially tear down others. That doesn’t really fit in with the whole loving each other thing. I don’t remember Jesus cussing people out in his anger.  On the other hand, swear words are often used as expressions of pain or resentment and such, and those are often out of habit, but that also can fall under overuse. ^{Matthew 15: 18}”But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man." If we often use swear words it can be seen as a reflection of what is in our hearts. Christians should be filled with Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Self-Control, etc. By spewing  out swear words, first of all it isn’t very self-controlling if we seem to just always let them slip, and second, they don’t reflect those qualities of Jesus. The fruit of the spirit are shown through are actions and words. We need to be careful how we use them as they may not really help us move towards the image of Christ.

^{Colossians 3: 8} “But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. ⁹ Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. ¹⁰ Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him”

Again, I am not saying swearers go to hell, obviously, and I am definitely not supporting going up to people and telling them swearing is wrong. But I want to proposition that it can be a stumbling block in our path, and if you are not angrily using ‘bad words’ you can also consider the desires of your Christian brothers and siblings. If you find that it bothers them, then it wouldn’t kill to have some self-control, and on the flip-side, it wouldn’t hurt to have some loving patience and understanding and to not focus on appearances.

Mi tarea fue divertido

Yes, I admit it, I actually did some homework at home and was enjoying it. I forgot what a joy it is to actually complete stuff. I even randomly woke up at 4 40, 10 minutes before my alarm that is supposed to be snoozed for an hour before I actually wake up, so I decided to get up otherwise I would be too tired later. So I drank half a jug off apple juice and outlined some academic decathlon econ stuff. My Tuesday morning Bible study fell through because sleep overcame everybody else. Ironic, that I who likes sleep the most was the only one to get up, and super early at that. But it worked out, I got in some good Bible reading. A very good morning. Oh, and I got a 92 on the Psych test with doing minimal effort. I love that class and the brain God has given me!!

Arg...

I love to sleep and such, but I the necessity to keep up with my school work and other dedications need to come first. Unfortunately if you have read my posts, there is a theme, though not intentional. So that would be awesome if you could pray for me to keep focused. I am so glad I didn’t have this laziness in elementary and middle school, otherwise I don’t know where I would be.

He who is most slow in making a promise is the most faithful in performance of it.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Insults are the arguments employed by those who are in the wrong.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

ARGG!!!! New Year's Resolutions

I feel like every week and sometimes even every few days I am making resolutions to do better, but then, like common New Year’s Resolutions, I utterly fail and keep remaking these resolutions to do better. I am not angry at myself trying to improve, but at my inability to change. In fact I find that many people are very resistant to change. They believe and act like they think they are perfect or are unable to change or improve. They have the mentality that ‘I am who I am, and that is that. Nothing needs to be different’. But part of the human experience is learning and growing every day.

I need to seriously contemplate every moment what I am doing, and then what I should be doing. Going with the flow is simply not acceptable.

mackenzieyourfriendzie:

teawithhoneydear:

whomshallifear:

walkingwithmyfather:

beauty-from-ashes:

itssummertime:

lovejustice:

(via will-r)

Love vs. Lust

i wish so many could see this!

We had a similar shorter list like this in Psychology class. It is so true and is very visible in many high school relationships.

Crazy

Today is crazy. Not crazy like crazy things happened, so hectic is the word I should have used. I stayed up way late re scanning in photos for a senior ad/collage for Mrs. Wilson and then woke up early to go to a NHS meeting, then spent 1st and 2nd hour finishing that collage for Mrs. Wilson’s daughter’s yearbook, slept through half of 3rd.  Took tests during 5th. Key Club meeting. 20 minutes of math. XC. Eat. Blog.

Now I will leave to church to do PPT for worship practice. Then it’ll be at least 9 o’clock and I’ll be pooped and ready to sleep but I will have to finish the take home Calc test I barely started and the review assignment and then write my Aca Dec speech, pretty much from scratch.

So the real question is, why am I blogging? Shouldn’t I be taking this spare time to do something more important? Well I could say that I am showing this problem of procrastination to whatever viewers may read this so they could encourage me to be a better worker and such, but that is very counterproductive. It would be like beating up people randomly to show everybody how bad violence is. So, I say I am doing this partially to procrastinate as it is in my nature, but also to step back and take a quick break so I can go fully invigorated into the rest of my night. Though, now that I have taken this step back and can see everything a bit clearer, I see I should actually be doing my Calc test. Right?

Men's Bible Study

On Wednesday nights I go to a bible study associated with Northern Hills Community Church. We briefly start with everybody, then split into groups based on grade and gender. So the senior guys group is talking and such and the talk meanders its way over to girls and the impossibility to fully understand them. We came to three conclusions:

1. Their monthly visits are God’s way of keeping guys on their toes, so just as we think we start to understand, everything gets changed up and we have to start over. (Hypothesis provided by Matthew Harris)

2. Women don’t even fully understand themselves.

3. With conclusions 1 & 2, men may be able to start to understand women.

(Don’t steal these ideas cause they may one day be the inspiration for a book, or if you write a book anyway, you should give me a cut)

The bible study was actually focusing on Matthew 15:9-17, talking about Jesus’ love for us and our love to him and everybody else, but specifically ‘Agape’ love, a love that comes with a decision, not because a love by only emotions, but one that may require some effort to truly care for somebody. Then we ended the night listening to ‘Mood Rings’ by Relient K. A good night.

We will speak against senseless laws until they are reformed; and, while we wait, we will abide by them.

Denis Diderot

Peace

Jesus speaks of loving our neighbors and our enemies. How does war fit into that equation. I’m not even going to bother talking about current wars, but I have been thinking of our past wars, the ones that we have some hindsight on. For instance, the Revolutionary War, should Christians have actually taken lives of others to defend ‘God given rights?’ America claims to be a nation “under God” but we are one founded on a violent uprising against another nation who also believed had God’s interests in mind. How is this violence justified?

XC

Is it worth the pain? I have to take ibuprofen before running races in order to do well so not to be overcome by pain, but I hate taking pills to cover up the pain (and reduce the inflammation). And then like today I get pain the morning after once the effects of the drugs fade away. I don’t like the constant covering up of symptoms. Just a little more than a month left of this.

Fil O Sohfy

So there was the 2nd Philosophy meeting today at school, but my first. It began with the topic of Religion and tried to start with answering the simple question of “Is religion needed?” Well there were pretty much 3 groups of people, the atheists who some thought of it as a crutch, the Christians/Catholics who would say something about God, and then others who I didn’t really get to hear or determine what that they thought cause I could only stay for part of the time. Everybody was divided into 2 groups due to the large amount of people but my group had a hard time answering the topic or even staying off topic getting into squabbles over matters of energy, atoms, infinity, the beginning of the universe, cars, abortion, and other junk that was loosely related to the topic. As I said I didn’t stay till the end but all the thoughts I really had on the actual question didn’t really come to me till after I left. One was that on the most basic level, man needs very little to survive, and so technically, no, religion is not needed. Then to those who viewed religion as a ‘crutch’, I could see any belief of anything to be a ‘crutch’. The belief in atheism and only being able to look to yourself and mankind could be considered a crutch helping you to overcome the sinfulness of humans or the thought that there could be a force that you cannot fathom and can’t predict and understand. But hey, it just philosophy, right?

7th place

In the meet today I got 7th place at a decent 20:16 considering how far we are into the season. I got 4th on my team. We did great placing 1st, with our top 5 people at: 1st, 4th, 6th, 7th, 11th. And btw, I love my team and we all did amazing, the girls team got 2nd which is great.

On a similar note to the last, in Cross Country you are encouraged to try to run with somebody else during a race, usually a teammate, so that you can continually push each other to get a faster time. During today’s race I was in a group of 3 most of the time which kept me going, though I may have been too dependent upon the group cause I started fast at the beginning and slowed down too much waiting for the others to catch up so I could run with them. Oh so dependent…

SYATP

7 AM students began to circle around the flag pole in prayer. When I arrived at 7:02 there were about 15ish people and it at least doubled in size with 3ish teachers participating as well. It was encouraging to see students, many of whom I didn’t know, gather together boldly praying to Christ.

On the radio I heard of a girl who was the only girl at her school praying which was discouraging and encouraging at the same time. Saddening due to the fact that no one was their to support her but awesome since she had the courage to stand there alone. Unfortunately I heard of a local school in Phoenix who had absolutely no students there. I’m not saying there are no Christians there, and its not like you are not a strong believer if you don’t go, so now I’m not to sure why I said unfortunately. We have a Christian group at our school called The Refuge, formerly Youth Alive, that headed this event and really publicized it. I think that every school should have some way of uniting together in Christ’s name.

On that note I really hope for Refuge to grow because although we had a large amount of students at the pole, few participate in the group which mostly consists of a Wednesday morning worship session followed up by a speaker. It is a beautiful way to start the morning. Unfortunately I think it is all too common for Christians, specifically high schoolers, to act as if Sunday is God’s day, and maybe even Saturday, but then Monday-Friday school and other stuff is the top priority and God is forgotten. I know I have sinned in my time management and I use mornings like on Wednesday to help give time to Him. I also attempt to go to a Wednesday night Bible Study, and I also have a Romans study on Tuesday mornings. Again, unfortunately, I believe I have been using these as the only means to put God into my schedule during the week. I am not having my daily devotions and (as talked about in my last blog) misused my time. I still adamantly believe that we should be actively involved in Christ centered groups especially ones that try to spread The Word throughout the school like The Refuge, but it is not a replacement for my individual one-on-one time with God. This is what I need to work on.

Another unfortunately, I have noticed that only doing things when I’m in a group is not isolated to my time with God, although that is probably the worst area, but it is also with running, hence Cross Country, and with studying for tests and other school work. I pretty much will not run if it is by myself there needs to be another person or else I just won’t bother to do it. Same goes with preparing for tests or doing homework. I just don’t get around to it unless I can plan a study group or something of the sort. It is pretty unfortunate that I am unable to find that internal motivation. It wasn’t always like this, more so since high school, when my grades and work ethic started to slide. So I need to stimulate my motivation for school and such but more importantly I need to let my fire for God grow.

I have found that I often feel like leaving feedback on blogs I read, sometimes disagreements or just comments or whatever and so I shall often end my blogs with a question just to allow people to be able to comment if they wish. Do you think this is a okay decision =P ?

Priorities

By there very definition they should go prior, first, before. But I royally suck. Everything I put ‘first’ in my life I have not been putting first. The things I claim to be my top 3:

family, people, school.

The things that should be at the bottom:

TV, TV, and TV.

Well in the past few days I have spent ridiculous amounts of time watching TV, though thanks to the curse of Hulu, I am able to watch all the amazing shows on my computer whenever I want to. Tonight I just watched the actual television for the first time in awhile because it was a 2-hour premier.

But you know what I should have been doing instead of that? In particular, talking. Chatting with a good friend of mine who now goes to college thousands of miles away was able to talk to me on Skype. (Skype has chats, but also voice and video calls). Now there wasn’t any important issue to talk about, but the fact is that out of their busy schedule they told me ahead of time when they could basically take some time to have a phone call with me. The fact is that I would love to talk to this person, but I let the TV get in the way. Why have I let television shows get before my friends, family, and even God.

Back at Youth Convention in Columbus Ohio I had felt a major readjustment to my life. I had no desire for anything but to love God and to love my neighbors. I finally understood the concept of not having a TV or even internet and being happy. Why do I need TV? Right now it seems to be only a stumbling block. I have no problem with TV itself as it can contain awesome things as well as serve as a social activity, but when it consumes my time and comes prior to the things that are actually important, then it can be a source of sin, something that separates me from God.

This rapid descent into wastefulness of time has been mostly over the past weekish and I have noticeably seen a change in my attitude. I feel less happy and less social. More distanced. I just deleted my bookmark for Hulu, but obviously that will not stop my ‘addiction’, but its a start. I have found that the closer I am to God, the more everything else just falls into place.

I am not saying that I will never watch TV again, but for now I will stop checking daily to see if I have a new video in my queue and will not be checking the NBC schedule for the next episode of Heroes. I will catch back up with the shows that I enjoy once I have set other things back in their place.

America and me

Link: America and me

Sorry ahead of time for my disorganized writing for it is difficult for me to put my thoughts on ‘paper’ when I can hardly think straight.

I am so unsure of political opinions, but I think that I…

Blogs

Psh… blogs. I used to be pretty indifferent to the whole blog thing, but then I got friends. ;) The annoying thing is that there are a bunch of different blogging sites. I recently, and infrequently, used Blogger, and know some people on Wordpress and now I know some people who use Tumblr.

But why does there have to be different ones! I know, there are always different websites, just like Gmail isn’t the only email provider (though it is the best). But with emails it doesn’t really matter, and you might wonder how it could make a difference with blogs, but it does. Instead of individually checking on each persons blogs every once in awhile, when signed up to tumblr or Blogger (probably Wordpress and others too) there is the ability to follow. Which simplifies the matter updating you with other people’s blogs.

I was just going to stay with Blogger especially since I do love Google, but I suppose I will use tumblr due to the persuasion of a person or 2. The setup seems nice, though I think it loads slower then Blogger, so I will see if this ever changes my decision. BUT WAIT!! Blogger allows comments, and tumblr does not… What to this? I could ask you (whoever might read this), but you couldn’t respond on here, you would have to email or Facebook or something me.

Sheesh! I’m long-winded for such a silly matter. OH! and speaking of silly matters: Twitter. Nah, I guess I shouldn’t insult it. It is just a micro-blogging site, but Facebook does a similar thing with the feed posts, but maybe all this is getting in the way of sitting down over some doughnuts and having a conversation about the happenings of daily life. But I defend this accusation with the fact that the  social/blogging sites can help with relationships that are distance challenged.

I don't have a clue what I want to do with my life.

kenleigh:

It’s kind of driving me crazy right now.

But I know that I want to glorify God with my life and career.  Sometimes it is really comforting just to know that he already has it figured out.

I second that! It can be discomforting not knowing where my future may lead after having a clear path for 13 yrs of my life plus at least 4 more for college, but then what? God grants me peace in this storm of confusion and doubt.