California Here I come!!

Who knew duffle/gym bags could hold so much?

It's a skill, really. I have an entire wardrobe stuffed into various small corners of that bag, and there's still more to go in it, but I'll make it fit, because it has to.

After the Steubenville retreat this weekend I'll be on a plane to california...and the beach..and family...and being tan :)

So, altogether, what with spiritual growth, hanging out with friends, and dancing in the waves of the Pacific, this promises to be a lovely summer.

Seahorses

Swimming up through waves of green and gold
getting lost in reefs of coral
forests of mahogany and yellow
they wonder why it's always dark at the bottom of the ocean.
The water carries them gently
a lilting motion
eddying waves with foam on top
where the seahorses cannot see.
They swim down, down to the bottom
and float softly through the swaying green that ripples in the wind
the wind of the sea.
Suddenly, a light pierces the always gloomy murk.
Gently, it sends a shaft that colors all it touches with soft golden sheen.
The seahorses are surrounded and bathed in the glow.
They dance and gleam in the light
but only for a moment
the sun sinks lower in the western sky
the shaft moves farther and farther away
and then
gone
and the seahorses roam again in the darkening gloom
soon forgetting their dance and the sun
seeing only what they saw before
only now it is not enough
not the same
forever tarnished by the warmth of a moment never again repeated.

Thunder, Lightning, and Sharks

It's thunderstorming here and the streaks of lightning are both exciting and terrifying. Thunderstorms didn't use to scare me but in the last few years, for some odd reason, the clash of thunder is enough to make me cringe when I think of the possibility of being electrocuted. This is probably something we call irrational fear. I'm not afraid of electrocution itself..more the idea of it, and if I sit down and consider the chances of bing electrocuted, I'm not actually afraid of that either.

The statistic I've heard regarding shark attacks and being struck by lightning isn't very comforting either. Apparently, more people are struck by lightning every year than are attacked by sharks. This statement is meant to comfort one when going to the beach, but for some reason I usually remember it when there's a thunderstorm. During a storm, all the memories and images I have of shark attacks and people with missing limbs who survived only to return to surfing (I never did understand that girl..) come flooding back and I realize that shark attacks do happen, and obviously if they happen..so does electrocution.

Actually, I think what really made me begin to fear thunderstorms was a night last year. I went to sleep with the window open because it was a humid summer night (common to Ohio) and the rain wasn't coming in, or maybe it wasn't even raining when I went to sleep. I was awakened at about 3am by the loudest clap of thunder I've ever heard in my life. I'm not exaggerating. It woke me up, and if you know the kinds of things I sleep through --my siblings screaming bloody murder in the carseat next to me only one of many examples-- that fact would prove how loud this clap of thunder was. It was accompanied --that's right, accompanied..not proceeded by-- a blinding flash of lightning (ok, so this might be an exaggeration because I was half asleep), and a burnt smell. I don't know if it's possible to smell lightning, but I swear I smelled something burning. It was really like waking up to the end of the world, probably in part because I was groggy and not thinking straight, which is evidenced by the fact that I immediately jumped out of bed, ran to my parents' room and whispered urgently in my fathers ear, "Daddy, was the house struck by lightning?"

If I had been thinking straight, I would have realized that it would have been slightly more obvious if the house had actually been struck by lightning, but, again, I blame all this on a brain only half-awake. Whatever the reason for my actions, that memory of waking up to what seemed like a very terrifying 'end of the world' is very vivid and seems to have sparked some kind of irrational fear of thunder storms: nothing too dramatic. I'm not terrified of them and I can dance in the rain while watching lightning, but, all the same, it does make me cringe when the forked tongues slice across the sky and a loud clap of thunder splits the air, especially within a few seconds of the lightning, which, thanks to my 9th grade online science class, I now can convert to the approximate number of miles away from us that the lightning is striking.

Of course, according to this website, more people die by eletrocution from Christmas tree lights per year than by shark attacks....so maybe being struck by lightning isn't that common after all.
;)

Trust

Trust is an interesting thing, so easily given, so quickly lost. It takes about a second and a half to say the words "I trust you" and still they form bonds that promise to hold under the most intense pressure. Yet, in less than a second and a half the bonds can be shattered, discarded, and mangled beyond recognition. It's been said that a wise man trusts only those he knows he can put faith in, but never gives up his trust, even when his strength is tested by suspicions and doubts. A foolish man, on the other hand, loses his trust as easily as he gives it, and with the first signs of danger he is gone.

Trust is ironic too. When one's trust in another falters, it is likely that the other will lose trust in return. If you promise to trust even in hard times and as soon as they come, lose your trust, was it trust at all? It's a mutual bond connecting two people and if one person finds fault in it, the bond is hurt for both people.

Trust, for some, requires great effort to maintain, for others it comes as naturally as walking. Jesus, when he said that we must become like a little child to enter the kingdom of God, meant that we must trust him blindly like a child, for, like a child with its parents, we have no choice. He is our only means of safety and our only sure way to happiness. If we try to trust those we love it will gradually become more and more easy to do and improve our friendships, with those around us and also with God.

Trust is tricky and elusive, but, once caught, it brightens life and sheds beautiful light on what before was covered over in doubt and darkness.

"We're never so vulnerable than when we trust someone - but paradoxically, if we cannot trust, neither can we find love or joy." ~Walter Anderson

Blog Revival

After over a year of not posting I randomly decided to revive this blog, touch it up, rename it, and try to get it going again. I have no idea what sparked this sudden revival, but I guess I'll just enjoy it while it lasts and see how long that is.

So many things have changed since December of 2008 (the last time I posted) that I won't even try to fill you in, but we'll just start from right now in my life -- the middle of my junior year-- actually, the middle of the rhetoric essay that I've been avoiding while fixing up the blog, but which I need to go finish now, lest I invoke the wrath of my rhetoric teacher, who is actually the same Mrs. Mac of last year's history class (one of the best teachers I've ever known).

So, welcome back :) I hope to be posting more sometime soon.

itunes thingy

From Emily

1. Put your iTunes on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Be My Escape- Relient K

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Me and Jesus- Stellar Kart heehee

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
She's Not Just a Pretty Face- Shania Twain wow...special

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
The Scene and the Herd- Relient K hmmmm what?

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Redemption- Switchfoot dude........creepy

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Mountain of God - Third Day

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Tied Down - Colbie Caillat hmm really? *sigh* maybe I'm am kind of tied down with everything that I have going on lately.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Homesick- MercyMe oh please.......

WHAT IS 2+2?
For the Band- Relient K

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Made to Worship- Chris Tomlin

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Entertaining Angels- Newsboys yeah...right..my siblings are anything but angels ;-) jkjk

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
The Call- Regina Spektor uhh i'm confused :-/

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Breakfast- Newsboys heehee that's funny, because despite my love for food, that's the only meal I consistently don't eat.

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
S.O.S.- Jonas Bros. HAHAHA! That would be funny!

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
A Whisper Heard Around the World- Bryan Duncan huh? I've never actually listened to this song..it was on an old WOW cd that i put on itunes a while ago.

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
The Only Thing Worse Than Beating a Dead Horse is Betting on One- Relient K uhh i guess in a twisted way that could mean horsebackriding?

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Ordinary Day- Vanessa Carlton Yes..but you never know what i DO on ordinary days..do you?

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Cartoons-Chris Rice heehee

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
On My Own- Les Miserables oooh! That is SO true! I'm such an extrovert!

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
This Man-Jeremy Camp ummm creepy?

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
ABBA- Rebecca St.James huh?

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
The Stenographer- Relient K

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
I'm Taking You With Me - Relient K can you tell I like Relient K? lol

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
Deathbed-Relient K ummm a bit morbid?

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
Up and Up- Relient K this is ridiculous I don't have THAT many of their CD's

YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Wherever We Go- Newsboys ummm?

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
Take You Back- Jeremy Camp weird O.o

ANY LAST WORDS?
Frank Dies-HP4 soundtrack

hmm the beginning was kind of funny, but it just got random and boring towards the end.

I'm sorry...

...for neglecting you so horribly. But I've just been so busy lately! I won't list my schedule because it really isn't that interesting..only painfully full. Happy Veteran's Day! (late..) It was nice to have the day off...

Actually, our school doesn't give us Veteran's day off (unfortunately), but I took it off anyway, to get sleep and try and get rid of this accursed cold/hacking cough/sore throat thing. It's still hanging around, but I'm not miserable, only slightly annoyed, because I have a concert on Sunday. So, yes, I played hooky (sp??) and have since decided that it really doesn't pay. I had to run through school on Wednesday, trying to find my teachers and ask about hw and turn stuff in. Technically I have until next Tuesday to get the stuff turned in, but I felt like making their jobs easier and turning in stuff so they could grade it over the weekend. Anyway, I couldn't find one of the teachers, so I put my hw in her almost completely full mail box. I kind of doubt that she'll even find it. ;-)

I know I've already warned you all to avoid AP history..well...yes, it's true, but at least Mrs. Mac (despite her love of crushing us with excessive hw) tries to make it interesting. Yesterday Mrs. Leckleider (sp?) , one of the math teachers, held a Japanese tea ceremony in class (she's a missionary to Japan). It was really fascinating! I have no idea how they sit on their ankles for hours at a time. It's pretty painful, so we cheated and crossed our legs about half-way through the class.

I have to go now, I've got a lot to do, but I promised not to give my schedule..so I won't tell you exactly what it is I'm going to do..just think along the lines of Latin hw and grammar and chemistry tests......

Oh, one more thing...I've made it through the first quarter of school! I got my report card the other day..It's really quite exciting to get a report card..esp because it was so encouraging to know that all this homework nonsense has paid off.

My results were:
Grammar 97%
Composition 95%
Literature 95%
History 89%

overall a 4.25 average...which is weird..because I thought you really couldn't go above a 4. lol It must be the AP history.. I'm kind of shocked that grammar is 97% because I think it's one of my more challenging classes. I've never liked grammar..it all seems a bit pointless. I'm glad this is my last year. Also, for chemistry I don't know what my average is, but I'm sure it's going to go down after I take this test....ugh..I really don't like moles..so confusing!

Hopefully, I'll be able to post again soon. I want to make one of those video things about our trip to Pike Lake...

But goodbye for now! May your grammar grades flourish, may your history teacher assign small amounts of homework, and always remember to balance your equations!