An Amateur Christian Journalist's Insights

2010-04-15T00:06:00.001-06:00

2009-09-09T00:51:00.004-06:00

It has been almost an entire year since I last posted on this blog or any of my blogs. It is amazing what happens in a year! Who would have guessed that I would have gone to UCCS, PPCC, and now ACC in that short a time? Who would have guessed what events would transpire in the next eleven months? Certainly not me. I dare not guess what the Lord has for me in future years to come.

...Well, I will dare a little. I will dare to hope that I will get through this semester, my first semester working and going to school at the same time. I will dare to hope that I can get good grades in all my classes so that I can be eligible for the nursing program here or wherever else God opens a door for me. I will dare to hope that I can get through the LPN program, get a good job, make money, and marry my sweetheart. Yes, I am bold--but I dare to hope that all will come true. I love being young because I look forward to the future. I love having promise of change (not the kind Obama promises, but change for the better). Youth is not always wasted on the young. It is unfortunate, however, that I am not good at being content with where God has put me for now. In that way, I suppose my youth is wasted on me...

(It is 1 AM as I write this, and I have gotten out of the practice of writing coherent rants, so I am trying, unsuccessfully, to be clear.)

Who can guess what God has in store for each one of us? Each day is a new experience. Today may be the most boring day you have ever had, yet it may change your life. It may be the most exciting day and a turning point. Each day is important and invaluable. God uses each day to change us. He is using every moment to shape and mold us. I wonder if He does it despite what we want... I think He does sometimes, because I know sometimes I prefer to remain stagnant. But He is also a gentleman and will not push us more than we will let Him. My theology must be really strange, but I believe it is a combination--He pushes me into circumstances I do not want, but I then have the choice to learn from it or not.

Like I said, who would have guessed what would happen in these eleven months for me? They were not a lot of fun. At times, I really tried to take things into my hands. And yet... God had everything under control, in His capable hands, the entire time. He used everything, still is using everything, to grow me in ways I would not have imagined.

I am learning self-discipline: working night shifts, morning shifts, and the graveyard shifts, and then going to school, doing homework, and trying to sleep have forced me to learn how to get enough sleep to survive. Everybody used to have to TELL me to go get sleep, but I think I figured out that I need to get sleep without them bossing me around... (Gee, you would think I would have figured this out when I was, what, 13 at the latest?!) :P

I am learning to stand on my own two feet. I am not advocating being a rugged individualist (although the American culture certainly is pervasive more than most people are conscious of), but I do advocate knowing what you think. I let people think for me before; I am figuring out what exactly *I* think now. Not that what I think is all that amazing or profound or always accurate, but it means that I am not weak-minded and easily swayed by the best-sounding arguments. I have to actually THINK! And that means the beliefs I was raised with are becoming my own, rather than my parents'. Again, I wish I had figured this out years before, but better late than never. I am becoming my "own" person, if you will. An individual who knows that she alone will stand before the Lord one day and give an account for her actions; no one else will be there to say they did everything and I just followed.

I have gained some self-confidence. Perhaps that is not the term to use. I am not confident in myself, but I am confident that the Lord has given me abilities to do things I never imagined possible before. I have strength that I never knew I had.

I have come to realize that my parents did a lot of things right. And I admire them for the things that must have been difficult but they did anyway. I realize now just how ungrateful a wretch I am; maybe one day, when our relationship is restored completely, I will be able to tell them how grateful I am for everything they provided, did, and how much they loved me.

And through all this stuff has been my sweetheart. God brought him along at just the right time. To be my best friend, support, and comfort. How blessed I am! Ricky is an incredible blessing. Incredible. And I love, yes, LOVE him. I used to wonder if I knew what true love is; and God reminded me that "greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). He showed that to me, and I get to show it to Ricky and everyone else around me. I trust him, admire him, and respect him for the man that he is. He sure is not perfect, and we both get to remind each other of our weaknesses, but I love him, warts and all. (:P)

God is good.

2008-10-25T14:40:00.000-06:00

2008-10-23T19:25:00.004-06:00

You’re The Only Place
Sung by Josh Groban

Seems like our love is on a road to nowhere fast
All my life I thought a love like this would last
But every road can hide a corner we can't see
I had a vision that I woke up by your side
I felt you breathing and our souls were intertwined
But who controls love's destiny? Not me.

We had it all right in our hands,
We had the space to fly and still a place to land

So I'm calling out, I'm calling out to the only one
Who can save us from what we've done
Don't leave me hanging on
I'm reaching out and praying you'll come back again
It's just darkness I'm living in
And you're the only place my heart has ever been.

Maybe I'm young and in the ways of love naive
Maybe I'm desperate for a reason to believe
There wasn't any way I thought that we would fall.
I've seen perfection in a rainbow in the sky
I've seen a child make the coldest grown man cry
But loving you I thought was greater than them all.

We had it all, just you and me
Now there's a doorway to my heart without a key

So I'm calling out, I'm calling out to the only one
Who can save us from what we've done
Don't leave me hanging on
I'm reaching out and praying you'll come back again
It's just darkness I'm living in
And you're the only place my heart has ever been.

Wherever you are right now
Come back and show me how you feel
Because I'm lost without you here

Calling out, I'm calling out to the only one
Who can save us from what we've done
Don't leave me hanging on
And I'm reaching out and praying you'll come back again
It's just darkness I'm living in
Cause you're the only place my heart has ever been.

2008-10-08T08:35:00.002-06:00

ROFLOL! I love http://icanhascheezburger.com...

So I decided my last post (actually written last night, not today) was too depressing. So everyone else needs to know what's going on in my life, what happened yesterday, and what is going to happen. :-D

(I laughed so hard at this picture, I think I disturbed everyone in the general vicinity...)

Yesterday. Was Tuesday. What more can I say? I stayed up until 11ish the night before working on post-labs, pre-labs, and in-between-labs (:-P). I DID get the data I had been freaking about, although I THOUGHT that a 700% yield of a compound was a little much... Then I got up (later than I was expecting--what can I say? I don't like getting up at 5:30!!!), went to school, finished all my pre-, post-, and half-labs. ...Barely.

I rushed into Biology lecture in time to hear my teacher explaining what groups we were going to be in. Good thing I didn't miss THAT lecture! We actually had a really fun time going off and researching C. diff. PLUS I got 3 extra points for my exam. That's always nice... :-/

Next I rushed to my Chemistry lab, only to discover that I had thrown my goggles away along with the remnants of my lunch (just a plastic bag--don't worry, folks, I haven't changed into some weirdo that only eats half her sandwich). Well, I thought I had thrown them away. Turns out the goggles decided to go into hiding underneath all my textbooks... Smart move, I thought.

Chemistry lab was really pretty fun. My lab partner and I figured out that 58.9% is a much more reasonable for percent yield, rather than 700% (GOSH!), and then we all learned about the characteristics of acids and bases, did some titrations, and made pretty colors. (Why IS it that when someone flirts with you, they insult you??? It's like insulting is a love language or something...)

(Yes, I am being random. Questions? I had coffee this morning.)

Biology lab was next. I actually had time to read ahead while I was sitting there waiting, because Chemistry lab got out a little early and Biology lab is supposed to start 10 minutes after Chemistry lab ends. (That's confusing... Let's just say I had time to read.) We examined our spit and looked at other fascinating bacteria. I was really tired, so it wasn't quite as much fun as it could have been. :-(

I slept on the way home...

Then worked out...

Then was so freaking tired that I couldn't go to bed until 10:30. I am so much like my father when it comes to staying up because I am tired. Yikes.

Benefits of being tired: I watched a documentary on Islamic extremists called "Obsession" and folded all my laundry...from Monday, but we don't talk about laundry timelines. That would be, like, airing my dirty laundry. (Sorry... I think the pun didn't work that time...)

Yesterday was enough for this post. I desperately need to work on that Bible study. Ah, homework... :-)

2008-10-08T08:17:00.000-06:00

I miss the good old days. Everyone says not to look back and wish for the old days. But like the children of Israel, I look back and sigh. I do miss what I had, although I certainly will not discredit God’s incredible grace, the remarkable journey He is taking me on, and where He has brought me.

But still I miss the old days. I miss my life from about January through May. Those were wonderful, albeit short months. But then something changed. They became scared again. Everything went downhill from there. We tenaciously held on. But They won.

Even now, I am afraid that I am not thinking in a right way. It is still me against Them. It should not be this way. It is my fault that I see Them as the enemy. But I do. Pray that I grow up and see Them as my allies.

But... I miss the good old days. No, they were not completely good. But we had freedom. There was promise of beautiful things. I had hope. I cannot blame Them. I cannot say They took away my hope. But the hope I now have is regardless of Them. They still have power to dash that hope to pieces. But my hope is not based on anything They will give me.

I am tired. It was a very long day today. That always makes me mellow and moody. I always pity the people who have to put up with me when I am tired. Perhaps that is why I am acting this way.

But no, I am simply verbalizing what I have been thinking for over a month. I need people to get into my mind and show me how wrong I am (*kindly*). I need brothers and sisters in Christ to come alongside me and encourage me to turn away from my wrong thinking. It seems I am in a vicious cycle right now. And the problem is, I need encouragement from people. But They think I am fine now (I no longer have him, so what problems should I have in life???) and do not need help. I am not sure I would accept Their help either. Oh, I am so evil!

And now... No, even then, back after things went downhill, even my closest friends were able to be more free and spend more time with him than I was. Our friends were able to spend more time with him, were even able to stay at his house, while I stayed at home... Yes, I am showing my evil side: I was and am jealous. It is not fair.

But... If life was fair, I would be in hell right now. So I suppose I do not want fairness. But... Oh, how I long to be close to him!

It reminds me of the verse in Song of Solomon, chapter 8, which says “O that thou wert as my brother...! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised.” (My good old KJV is the closest Bible at hand tonight.) And, again, of the idea that the best things in life sometimes come at the highest price and are the hardest to get.

I am the woman. I am not supposed to be the aggresor. I am not supposed to be interested or at all emotionally attached. But I am interested. I do wish. I do want. And I am so tempted to say... Just DEAL with it! I will not deny what is going on in this heart of mine.

But I know that my heart is desperately wicked and horribly deceitful, that there is nothing good in it. And so I try to keep it in check and take every thought captive. I will wait and pray. For there is naught else I can do. God is in control, and life is best that way.

2008-10-06T08:57:00.002-06:00

Sunday, 5 October 2008

I am sitting in my room working on homework right now. I have been sitting in my room working on homework for approximately two hours today, SUNDAY. Sundays used to be days of rest, and they are... In the mornings when I am rejuvenated spiritually by going to church. But then I come home, maybe take a brief nap or something, and then jump back into doing homework. I thought college was not that different from high school. How wrong I was...

I am trying to think of something pithy to say that my dear readers can take away and maybe share with their friends and family. But nothing comes to mind. So I will share a marvelous realization that struck me today in church (and, because I have to hear something multiple times to get it, I have to confess that I have had this realization before): If I have not a goal, a vision, a plan for the work that surrounds me, I will be swallowed up and have nothing to show for the time spent when my life is over.

Doesn’t that sound cool? What I mean is that I realized that I need to have a purpose for my school. I have to remember that it is part of a bigger picture and that it is not my life’s calling (I thank God for that sometimes). If I forget the bigger picture, it is so easy to get swallowed into the depths of despair when I have five ginormous (no, that is not a real word, as my spell-checker is quick to point out) assignments due on Tuesday (AAAAAAACK!).Yeah...

So I am taking Spanish 101 with Senora Endicott and enjoying the class. It was so helpful last year to take Spanish with my other siblings using Rosetta Stone and also taking from a lady in our church who used to live in Spain. It is perhaps my easiest class and is still worth five credits. Yay!

I took a test two weeks ago in Spanish and did fairly well. I think I have an A in the class. We have another test coming up on the 17th. I hope that goes well.

Chemistry and Biology are harder. I have a B and C, respectively, in those classes. But at least I have a C. That is the lowest grade I can have in any class and still receive state funding for attending college while still in high school.

Oh, and today is a Chemistry quiz. I am not really looking forward to it. I should study...

So that concludes my update for now. How are all my dear readers?

2008-09-01T22:21:00.001-06:00

Rest not. Become not complacent. Enjoy your happiness, for it is short-lived. Live life to its fullest, and slow down at the happy moments. They go by far too quickly.

The depths of despair... That is where I am. My heart is broken. Once again I hurt, and I let myself get into this. I let myself love. Therefore I opened myself to pain.

I want no conciliatory words. I want no comments or observations. I do not want anyone to come near me. I simply want to be able to cry as much as I need to, and then sink into oblivion and never return.

Truly, man is but dust. He is nothing. What can man do to me? Kill me? Like that would be really bad or something... Torture me? Again, it would distract...

But these are such morbid thoughts. I need to stop.

2008-07-21T06:53:00.002-06:00

Monday
21 July 2008

Morning:
We are back up in Denver to help with the Math & Science camp. It is the last week they are doing it, and Mrs. Lin said they will need lots of help. Apparently, last week the kids had a hard time designing their logos, so doing even more complicated tasks like putting together cards with information about planets is going to be REALLY tough. But I’ll bet they can do it...

~*+*~

Psalm 139:1-10
1 O LORD, You have searched me and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.
5 You hem me in–behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I fell from your presence?
8 If I go up tot he heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

God is good. He is faithful. He is merciful. He is loving, even when we are being tested and tried. (James 5:10-11) I am not saying I enjoy trials or pain. It is not fun. But when was life ever for the purpose of having fun? It is about glorifying God, not myself.

2008-07-10T19:41:00.001-06:00

Note: This is from yesterday. I'll write about today's events tonight. For those of you who don't know what's going on in my life right now (read: mostly everyone), Esther and I are up at our state capitol assisting with a math & science camp for inner-city kids. It's been an interesting few days... I would really like to come back again sometime soon.

9 June 2008

Hmm... Today was more exhausting than yesterday. I got more sleep and didn’t have any horrible nightmares, so that was good. It started out much as I had remembered the Math & Science Camp that we helped with two years ago, with Amber and I copying the template for a trebuchet onto card stock for the kids.

But then it went back to Math & Science Camp 2008... Which essentially means that the kids have absolutely no will to do anything except break others’ creations, and take the broken pieces and throw them around and hurt others. It is just frustrating to watch them.

While I’m in the midst of the kids, it’s hard to think about anything but them. But once I’m away, it’s interesting to ponder the day. The only two kids who actually built a trebuchet were Alec and Roger, who I worked one-on-two with... The rest of the guys their age and a little older were sitting around talking about all sorts of crap that I would have blushed to hear if I wasn’t quite so deaf and hadn’t been so in la-la-land...

It was made even longer by the fact that we had to quickly clean the sanctuary in preparation for a dinner put on for the local homeless people. Maybe Satan was trying to do a double-whammy here, but we were totally exhausted after running around after the kids and then cleaning, and then Mrs. Lin lost her keys in the confusion when someone put them away with everything else. After an hour of searching in the storage room through all the stuff we had been using that day, we finally found the keys (totally a God thing...) and went home to make spaghetti for supper.

At the camp, however, the kids finished up their spaghetti bridges (don’t know WHY we ate spaghetti tonight, except that there weren’t so many noodles flying around today), made the trebuchets, ate lunch (which was watched by inspectors from the FDA...), played outside, then came back in and worked more on the trebuchets and built a bridge with blocks. After the bridge, the kids tested their eggs, and more importantly, the protection they had put around the eggs, by dropping them off a ladder. The ones who had done a good enough job and kept the eggs from breaking when dropped were given prizes. I cleaned while they were doing that.

I’m learning that the best policy with the really annoying kids is to just YELL at them when they are not behaving. After I did that twice with Avery (one who I was totally having attitude issues with yesterday and then this morning), he was much more willing to respect me and listen to what I told him to do.

2008-06-19T09:25:00.001-06:00

It's here! I have my MacBook! It arrived yesterday!

That's about it... Life is amazing. God blesses us not only with our every breath but far beyond, with things we do not even need. Cool!

2008-06-14T18:01:00.002-06:00

Refurbished MacBook 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo - White
13.3-inch glossy widescreen display
1GB memory
120GB hard drive
Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
Built-in iSight camera

$949.00

Product Details

Model: Refurbished MacBook - White
Processor: 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
L2 cache: 3MB shared
System bus: 800MHz
Memory: 1GB (two 512MB) of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300); supports up to 4GB
Hard drive: 120GB Serial ATA; 5400 rpm
Slot-loading optical drive: Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
Graphics: Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor with 144MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory
Video: Built-in iSight camera; mini-DVI output port with support for
DVI, VGA, S-video, and composite video (requires adapters, sold separately) Display 13.3-inch (diagonal) glossy TFT widescreen display, 1280 by 800 resolution
FireWire: One FireWire 400 port (up to 400 Mbps)
USB: Two USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps)
Audio: Built-in stereo speakers, built-in omnidirectional microphone, combined optical digital audio input/audio line in, combined optical digital audio output/audio line out
Networking: Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit) Ethernet
Wireless: Built-in AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi (based on IEEE 802.11n draft specification)2; built-in Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) module
Hardware accessories: 60W MagSafe Power Adapter, AC wall plug, power cord, lithium-polymer battery
Height: 1.08 inches (2.75 cm)
Width: 12.78 inches (32.5 cm)
Depth: 8.92 inches (22.7 cm)
Weight: 5.0 pounds (2.27 kg)

I am very excited. Perhaps I am being materialistic (*gasp* I know... Impossible!), but wow, I'm excited about getting my refurbished MacBook, which should be arriving next Wednesday. Yay! *dances*

In other news, we're working hard around the place, doing work like trimming bushes, working on the chicken shed roof, digging up yucca, getting the lawnmower up and working again, etc. It's hard, sweaty work, but really rewarding. And when you have the radio cranked up, even...dare I say it?...FUN! Plus it's a great way to get a tan if you've been slowly mildewing indoors all winter. :P

Another cool fact: My birthday is a week from this coming Monday. The laptop is kind of an early birthday present, except I'm paying for half of it right now... Yeah.

Peter is growing like a weed. He looks about seven months old, even though he just turned five months on the 9th. He's rolling around on the floor (and his changing table--hold on, everybody!), talking the ears off anyone in the general vicinity, and is just an adorable baby overall. None of the rest of us have been as sweet as him... Maybe having a second batch of kids isn't such a bad idea after all! ;) No, God has truly blessed us as a family.

God is not only blessing our family, but He is totally blessing me right now, both with material posessions (see laptop) and with incredible relationships with fellow humans. Have you ever felt SWAMPED with having lots of appointments during a week, in which you meet with Christian friends? It's amazing. He is so good!

2008-06-04T21:13:00.001-06:00

I feel. That is not a unique observation. I am a human, thus I feel. I have been created in the image of God, thus I feel the emotions that He has created, albeit not perfectly, for I am in no way a perfect being yet.

…Yet. In that one word, there is promise. There is hope for something greater one day. But that day is not today.

…And so I long. I do not fully know WHAT I long for, but that does not mean I can not long. It does not mean that because I do not understand what I feel, I cannot experience that feeling. Sometimes I wonder: Are feelings meant to be understood? Can we really go through and analyze why someone falls in love? Or am I falling prey to today’s worldview (Post-Modernism) that we cannot know anything?

Today we went to the library. I hate doing nothing, and unfortunately, that is what I was doing a large portion of the time. However, I did get The God Who Is There by Francis A. Schaeffer, a book by Lee Strobel, and some other classics on tape so that maybe I will actually LISTEN to them!

Back to Schaeffer’s book. I am fascinated by the concept of our worldview. Not that I am a scholar on the subject by any means. Other members of my own family have done more research and thought more about it. But it is interesting to think that we Christians are still very much of the world, whether we are aware of it or not.

But I do not wish to talk about Post-Modernism or any other worldviews tonight. I wish simply to say this: I long for that which I do not know. I have this deep ache, sadness, that I am missing out on something that I have not yet found. Perhaps it is heaven. But it is rather a burden. I wonder how many people are filled with sadness at the thought of (is it heaven?) something far, far away.

2008-05-24T19:50:00.001-06:00

Random Thoughts of a Tired Mind

Is classical music a lost art form? Why do so few people enjoy it nowadays? Why is the fact that I enjoy listening to it occasionally laughed at?

Why do I care if people laugh at me?

Why am I so emotional? Is there any way to keep from being so moody?

The ultimate irony: I think I am better than the average person, only to find I’m falling into the same patterns every other person follows. In this case, for example, reading into everything someone of the opposite gender says. Ah, I deserve to have my pride lowered a notch or two…

Why is it that I act and think so differently when tired? I’m sure there’s a very good psychological reason somewhere…

I love chocolate pudding. Isn’t it great, folks?

Why am I always thinking about myself? Is this how others’ thoughts go too? Or am I simply an abnormally self-centered person?

I love games. I wish people were around right now so we could play something. But I guess the old adage is true: all play and no work makes Jack (or Jill) a slow quirk? Something like that…

I really should read more classics. Any suggestions?

Now I should really quit. And maybe even get a life. And…*gasp* Maybe even SLEEP! *audience gasps in horror*

2008-04-07T13:54:00.002-06:00

Well, it is time. Time for another update in the life of Allegra. Hmm... Not a whole lot going on, but I shall share. Perhaps my dear readers will share the latest happenings in their lives as well? (HINT-HINT-HINT)

Umm... Yeah. Definitely. So Dia and I had the ACT yesterday. I bombed the math part. I was silly and didn't answer all the questions before our time was up. Oy vey. It was impossible, though, for anyone less than a genius. (Which, I happen to know, I am not.) We had 60 minutes for 60 questions. If you do the math, that means you have approximately 1 minute/question. That's too little for the average population.

Had a math quiz today, on which I got 90%. That always makes me happy. Makes up for the 0% I got by missing a quiz, thanks to a speech and debate tournament.

We're celebrating a friend's 15th birthday tomorrow night. That will be fun too. Our school is having prom this Saturday, but we signed up too late (loooooong story....), and I'd really like to go to another dance with cool people I know better. We shall see what God has in store, though.

What are the key elements in a romantic relationship? I believe it is three-fold. Feel free to disagree and/or discuss.

1. Trust. Trust is essential to ANY relationship. I've managed to wreck the trust given me by my parents and other loved ones several times, and let me tell you, it is NOT fun. Be open and honest with the people you love. Even if it means telling them stuff that is hard. I'm still rather a chicken and don't say as much as I probably should sometimes. It's a fine balance between saying too much (a.k.a. something like "I hate your guts!" when I'm particularly mad and/or the other person is particularly odious at that moment--I know--never!!!), and saying too little (a.k.a. not telling my parents, "I'd love some breathing room...")

2. Being willing to give and ask for forgiveness. When the one you love says something particularly nasty and biting (and trust me--for me, it isn't hard for anyone to say something that hurts me...I'm working on that still), you need to be willing to forgive them. Whole-heartedly. Not begrudgingly. If you truly love them, forgiveness is always possible.

When I am particularly evil, say stuff that would make a sailor blush, or am just insensitive to others' needs, I need to ask the other person's forgiveness. The other person may say something cruel in return, but if I started it, I need to accept the fact that they were simply responding, and take the responsibility for the argument on my shoulders.

There are times when I am pretty sure I was not the party who did wrong. At least, I didn't START it... :P But still, taking the blame and asking forgiveness for my part in the argument/disagreement is huge. It's a really good lesson for me, because I like to prove how I'm right and the other person is wrong. I'm always right, or didn't you know? ;)

3. Finally, good communication. I'm not very good at this one. Isn't it funny how you can be talking to someone, and all of the sudden you wonder what you just said? Or maybe it doesn't happen to anyone else... When I put my mind in auto-pilot or am seeking self-satisfaction, my words never enrich anyone. The opposite, however, is telling the other party how you feel so that they know what's going on with you. This is important. If you have a problem with the other person, something that's been bugging you, TELL THEM!!!!! Get it out in the open, in a kind manner, and discuss it. It's amazing what this does.

I need to go clean my room, do dishes, math homework, English homework, etc., but I leave you with that to chew on. Thanks for taking the time to read it!

God bless you!

Allegra

2008-04-03T14:42:00.008-06:00

Y'all, this is a paper that I put together this week and will continue to work on tomorrow when we get the rest of our assignment. I'm posting because I haven't posted for a while, and you might find it interesting. If not my response (I sure don't find my response very interesting), then hopefully the actual poem and short story I've analyzed.

In-Class Homework
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for 122
English Composition 2
By Allegra T.
31 March – 4 April 2008
Analysis of Poetry, Fiction and More

Analysis of a Poem

“I know why the caged bird sings,” by Maya Angelou

A free bird leaps on the back of the wind
and floats downstream till the current ends
and dips his wing in the orange suns rays and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage
can seldom see through his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
of things unknown but longed for still
and his tune is heard on the distant hill
for the caged bird sings of freedom.

The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn and he names the sky his own.

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
of things unknown but longed for still
and his tune is heard on the distant hill
for the caged bird sings of freedom.

“…the caged bird sings of freedom.” In Maya Angelou’s poem, “I know why the caged bird sings,” she introduces her readers to two types of birds. One, the free bird, happily plays and flies all day in the sky. The caged bird does not have that happiness, yet still sings because it longs for the freedom the other bird has. The caged bird sings because he cannot do anything else.

The poem strikes a chord with its readers at first glance because most people have seen both kinds of birds and can picture them as described by Ms. Angelou. However, understanding why a caged parakeet still sings is Ms. Angelou’s ultimate goal. She uses this analogy to explain how colored people have been treated unfairly, even being caged, while white people leap “on the back of the wind”. White people are the free bird, while people of color are the caged bird in this poem. Appropriately, then, it follows that this poem is not one that is happy or cheerful. It does not inspire feelings of joy, but rather of sadness and even of longing.

Maya Angelou’s poem is formal in format because she is not telling a story, but rather telling us about something. But the fact that it is formal does not mean it cannot stir powerful images in its readers’ minds. As I read her poem, I could see a grey bird, perhaps a swallow, floating in the breeze, then ducking to get into a faster current as the sun set. Its song was sweet, as that of a meadowlark.

But then she suddenly took me into a darkened room, with perhaps a window where we could still see the swallow happily singing and flying, but tucked away in a corner was a small cage where a beautiful bird, perhaps a parrot or parakeet, sat miserably. Occasionally, as he sat on his man-made perch looking wistfully outside, he would let out an occasional squack that would pierce the air. It was not beautiful, but as she explained why he did it (“…for the caged bird sings of freedom”), it suddenly made sense.

As we dug into the deeper meaning of the poem and saw how it used symbolism to depict the civil-rights movement, I could again see how white people were given freedom to do things such as ride anywhere they wanted on the bus, while the colored people were put in cages, in chains, on plantations. The bright, cheery atmosphere of the free person’s and bird’s lives contrasted starkly with the dark, chained, imprisoned atmosphere of the colored person’s and bird’s lives.

The ending of Ms. Angelou’s poem made me feel intensely sad. She proposed this miserable plight of the caged bird, but gave no solution. It was as though the caged bird must remain caged forever. I suppose the hopelessness of the poem inspired feelings of longing for freedom for the caged bird that will never become free.

Analysis of a Short Story

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The Monkey's Paw, by W.W. Jacobs

Part I

Without, the night was cold and wet, but in the small parlor of Laburnum villa the blinds were drawn and the fire burned brightly. Father and son were at chess; the former, who possessed ideas about the game involving radical chances, putting his king into such sharp and unnecessary perils that it even provoked comment from the white-haired old lady knitting placidly by the fire.

"Hark at the wind," said Mr. White, who, having seen a fatal mistake after it was too late, was amiably desirous of preventing his son from seeing it.

"I'm listening," said the latter grimly surveying the board as he stretched out his hand. "Check."

"I should hardly think that he's come tonight,” said his father, with his hand poised over the board.

"Mate," replied the son.

"That's the worst of living so far out," balled Mr. White with sudden and unlooked-for violence; "Of all the beastly, slushy, out of the way places to live in, this is the worst. Path's a bog, and the road's a torrent. I don't know what people are thinking about. I suppose because only two houses in the road are let, they think it doesn't matter."

"Never mind, dear," said his wife soothingly; "perhaps you'll win the next one."

Mr. White looked up sharply, just in time to intercept a knowing glance between mother and son. The words died away on his lips, and he hid a guilty grin in his thin grey beard.

"There he is," said Herbert White as the gate banged to loudly and heavy footsteps came toward the door.

The old man rose with hospitable haste and opening the door, was heard condoling with the new arrival. The new arrival also condoled with himself, so that Mrs. White said, "Tut, tut!" and coughed gently as her husband entered the room followed by a tall, burly man, beady of eye and rubicund of visage.

"Sergeant-Major Morris,” he said, introducing him.

The Sergeant-Major took hands and taking the proffered seat by the fire, watched contentedly as his host got out whiskey and tumblers and stood a small copper kettle on the fire.

At the third glass his eyes got brighter, and he began to talk, the little family circle regarding with eager interest this visitor from distant parts, as he squared his broad shoulders in the chair and spoke of wild scenes and doughty deeds; of wars and plagues and strange peoples.

"Twenty-one years of it," said Mr. White, nodding at his wife and son. "When he went away he was a slip of a youth in the warehouse. Now look at him."

"He don't look to have taken much harm." said Mrs. White politely.

"I'd like to go to India myself," said the old man, just to look around a bit, you know."

"Better where you are," said the Sergeant-Major, shaking his head. He put down the empty glass and sighing softly, shook it again.

"I should like to see those old temples and fakirs and jugglers," said the old man. "What was that that you started telling me the other day about a monkey's paw or something, Morris?"

"Nothing." said the soldier hastily. "Leastways, nothing worth hearing."

"Monkey's paw?" said Mrs. White curiously.

"Well, it's just a bit of what you might call magic, perhaps." said the Sergeant-Major off-handedly.

His three listeners leaned forward eagerly. The visitor absent-mindedly put his empty glass to his lips and then set it down again. His host filled it for him again.

"To look at," said the Sergeant-Major, fumbling in his pocket, "it's just an ordinary little paw, dried to a mummy."

He took something out of his pocket and proffered it. Mrs. White drew back with a grimace, but her son, taking it, examined it curiously.

"And what is there special about it?" inquired Mr. White as he took it from his son, and having examined it, placed it upon the table.

"It had a spell put on it by an old Fakir," said the Sergeant-Major, "a very holy man. He wanted to show that fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it did so...

If you want to read the rest of this story (and I highly recommend doing so before reading my comments - they will just spoil the story otherwise), go to http://gaslight.mtroyal.ab.ca/mnkyspaw.htm.

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We have all read horror stories before. Sometimes it is fun to sit down and read ghost stories just to get a few chills. Perhaps the most fantastic and utterly frightening short story I have ever read came from W.W. Jacobs and is called “The Monkeys’ Paw.” In this story, Mr. and Mrs. White and their son, Herbert, acquire a monkey’s paw from a soldier friend from India, Sergeant Major Morris. The paw is unique because it has the power to grant three wishes. Their wishes are granted, but in a chilling manner that makes them wish they had never gotten the talisman.

We only come into contact with two other characters during the course of the story: the postman (who may not count, as he never says a word), and the representative from Maw and Meggins, where Herbert works. The postman delivers a tailor’s bill (most likely the sergeant major’s, as Mrs. White mutters about his drinking habits after receiving it), and the representative delivers the news that Herbert was caught in the machinery and offers compensation. The other characters have far more interesting roles to play, though.

Old Mr. White rather longs for adventure, and when the sergeant major visits with fantastic tales of adventure in the Middle East, Mr. White rescues the monkey’s paw from the fire when the sergeant major attempts to rid himself of the talisman. Later, after the soldier is gone, Mr. White wishes on the paw for money to pay off the house. After Herbert dies, Mr. White attempts to calm his wife when she wildly wishes for their son to come back to life and then wishes on the paw at his wife’s command. His final deed is to make the third wish and then rush to help his wife when she opens the door to let the stranger into the house.

Mrs. White is not as well developed a character as her husband in this short story, but she and her son are very close. When he dies, she is disconsolate. One night, while mourning his death, she decides to have Mr. White wish on the monkey’s paw again, this time that Herbert would come back to life. She goes downstairs to open the door after the wish has been made, and attempts to let whoever is knocking into the house.

Mr. and Mrs. White’s son, Herbert, is introduced at the beginning of the story with his father as they play chess one evening. Herbert is a young man, perhaps 20 or 30 years old, and his main role in the story is to provide some comic relief. The last time we see him is when he leaves to go to work the day after his father wishes for the money. He is caught in the machinery, and his parents receive the amount they had wished for in compensation for his services.

After we have met father and son as they play chess and the mother as she sits listening to her loved ones play the game, we meet Sergeant Major Morris, who was a soldier in India. The sergeant major brings many fantastic stories from that part of the country. He shows them a monkey’s paw, upon which a fakir put a spell years before and tells how he has received his three wishes but that someone else still can have three more wishes. He finally allows Mr. White to have it and later exits the story.

The postman does not really count, as he never says anything, and we never see an exchange, but it is interesting to note that he is one of the only other humans we ever come into contact with during the course of this story.

The last character to be introduced is the representative from Maw and Meggins, where Herbert worked. He is a well-dressed man, who notifies Herbert’s parents of the young man’s death and also of the compensation they are to receive, the 200 pounds that Mr. White had wished for the night before.

Mr. Jacobs’ writing is unique to today’s readers because it uses language we do not often use today, a setting that is unusual to our time, and describes situations that do not normally occur in our time. First, though, it is unique because it is a short horror story. Most horror stories today are usually much longer and leave less to the imagination. His is unique because he does not say everything, allowing our minds to conjure what they will.

The writing of this story is inherently unique because Mr. Jacobs uses vocabulary from his time that we do not often use today, such as condole (Encarta Dictionary defines condole as “to express sympathy to somebody who is experiencing grief, loss, or pain, especially over a death”), doughty (the same source defines doughty as “brave and determined”), and maligned (The Free Dictionary, 2008, defines maligned as “assailed with contemptuous language”). He also describes situations that are unusual to today’s society. For example, the family is sitting in the parlor playing chess in front of the fire (not listening to iPods, playing video games, or even watching television).

Another strange setting is simply the fact that the family lives far away from other people. Unless you live in Iowa, living very far from anyone else is pretty much unheard-of. All the people walk to get where they want to go, and the son still lives with his parents, even though he is an adult and could have moved away. The main cause for Mr. Jacobs’ unique writing is the different time in which he lived and wrote, and it makes for very fascinating reading.

This story is good not only because it is unique, but also because W.W. Jacobs does an excellent job of building suspense. He does this first by creating the perfect atmosphere. When the sergeant major comes to visit, it is on a cold and stormy night, exactly the kind in which our greatest fears can be brought out easily. The next day is bright and sunny, perfectly “innocent” of anything to do with mischief. But through foreshadowing preceding this new setting, instead of relaxing the reader, it increases the suspense. When the husband and wife wish for their son to come back to life, it is again at night, and again cold and windy.

Jacobs also uses attitudes to build suspense. Herbert is constantly joking, but sometimes his joking actually serves to make the reader contemplate absurd ideas he proposes. When the sergeant major visits, his attitude regarding the monkey’s paw is one that makes the reader feel as though the talisman truly has a power to be feared. Mrs. White’s change of attitude at the end, where she becomes strong and commanding, also serves to create greater suspense.

Third, Jacobs uses foreshadowing to build the suspense he desires. For example, when the sergeant major tells about the monkey’s paw, he says, “It had a spell put on it by an old fakir, a very holy man. He wanted to show that fate ruled people’s lives and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow.” Although this is not that impressive when reading the first time, readers are reminded of this statement when Mr. White’s wish is granted in a horrible way.

Finally, the use of silence in this short story serves to build suspense. When the sergeant major tells of how he got the paw, a hush falls upon the group. After Mr. White makes the first wish and the family is sitting around the fire, there is an unusual and depressing silence. The stranger from Maw and Meggins is oddly silent when he first comes to the house, and silence is used to describe Mr. and Mrs. White’s reactions to his message.

Their house is “steeped in shadow and silence” after Herbert’s death, and they say little to each other. After Mr. White makes the second wish, there is again silence as they lie in bed waiting. Finally, the conclusion shows a quiet and deserted road. Silence can be the best catalyst for building fear for any person from any time.

And now we reach the conclusion, which begins with the second wish and the apparent fulfillment of it evidenced by the knocking at the front door in the middle of the night. As Mrs. White rushes down to let the person who she assumes is her son in, Mr. White makes the last wish. We never find out what he wishes, but when Mrs. White opens the door, it is not to her son; all is quiet. It seems as though Mr. White did not want his son, horribly mutilated and maimed as he was, to be resurrected from the dead, so after he is forced to wish for a second life for his son, he goes back and wishes to undo it.

An alternate ending might be something like the following:

“He heard the creaking of the bolt as it came slowly back, and at the same moment, he found the monkey’s paw, and frantically breathed his third and last wish.

“The knocking ceased suddenly, although the echoes of it were still in the house. He heard the chair drawn back and the door opened. A cold wind rushed up the staircase, and” he heard a low voice speaking to his wife. Slowly he moved to the top of the stairs to look down upon the stranger and his wife.

The woman stood as if she had become one of the birch trees along the roadway, swaying slightly, but without moving her feet. The stranger looked up as White betrayed his presence with a cough.

“Mr. White? Forgive me for coming to your home at such a late hour, but my message is incredibly urgent. Your son, who you buried ten days past, was found in a hospital five miles away this evening. It seems as though you buried a stranger who had been at the factory at the same time your son was. Herbert bought him some clothes like his as an act of kindness, which explains why you thought the stranger was your son.

Now I must ask that you would accompany me to where your son lies. He is close to death, having been kidnapped by the stranger’s accomplices who expected him to be more wealthy, and then beaten and left for dead when he did not have what they wanted. Please come.”

Husband and wife, still in shock, stumbled up the stairs, dressed themselves warmly, and then came back to the stranger. When they reached their son’s room, they found people around Herbert’s bed. They slowly drew back as the couple drew near the bed.

“He is dead,” whispered the doctor. “He passed away not an hour ago.”

Yes, be careful of what you wish for. It may come true.

2008-03-04T17:26:00.002-07:00

Wow. It has been a while since I last posted. It seems that this is a common theme. Perhaps rare updating makes the final post more desired than it would be otherwise. It's the concept of supply and demand, don'tcha know? ;)

So we had a speech and debate tournament last week, starting Wednesday and going through Saturday. Wednesday, we headed over to the college after our classes were over. We had two debates (Round 1: Aff against Khazoyan/Watson - loss, Round 2: Neg against Groenevelt/Liddiard - win) and a speech round that afternoon/evening.

Thursday we had three more debates (Round 3: Neg against Burge/Peters - win, Round 4: Aff against Enos/Liddiard - loss, Round 5: Aff against Erickson/Jeub - win), and the final preliminary debate was held on Friday morning (Round 6: Neg against Davis/Fritzler - loss). God really did a work in my heart, totally changing my mind after Gold where we only won one of our debates. I decided (by His grace) that we COULD win Negative rounds (good thing, too!!!), and He allowed me to be sick so that I totally had to rely on Him to get anywhere.

Somehow He allowed Esther and I to break to outrounds with a 3-3 record. So we qualified to Regionals. The team we hit in Octofinals was Malenke/Watson...

Now before I tell you the result (and I'll let you guess it, if you don't already know), know that Malenke/Watson won the entire tournament. They were completely undefeated, winning every single one of their debates (I'm SO tired of their Aff case - no offense, but it's true). Not even Enos/Liddiard (they're famous for being very good and winning the tournament in Utah) did that well, losing to them in Semi-Finals. So yes, we lost, but it was an amazing debate, and I couldn't have picked a cooler team to debate in outrounds. (Interesting fact here: God allowed me to keep my voice until after this debate, but also allowed me to have a huge ear infection that hurt like the dickens while we debated.)

It was an amazing tournament. God was there. I had such a good time even while being sick and discovered just how rich God's love is.

The weather here has been interesting. One day it'll be lovely and warm (Friday and Saturday), the next snowing (Sunday and Monday), the next day warm again (today), and then cold AGAIN (tomorrow and Thursday, I hear). Ah, I love this state!

God has been doing some amazing stuff in my life lately. His grace, love, and mercies are over-abundant. I don't understand why He choses to be so good to ME, but He is, and I am glad. Praise be to our Heavenly Father!

So people have been wondering where I got my name for a long time now, I'm sure. This poem came to mind this afternoon anyway, when I was blissfully happy, so I'm going to post it to show you where my parents found my name. :)

The Children's Hour
Poem lyrics of The Children's Hour by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Between the dark and the daylight,
When the night is beginning to lower,
Comes a pause in the day's occupations,
That is known as the Children's Hour.

I hear in the chamber above me
The patter of little feet,
The sound of a door that is opened,
And voices soft and sweet.

From my study I see in the lamplight,
Descending the broad hall stair,
Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra,
And Edith with golden hair.

A whisper, and then a silence:
Yet I know by their merry eyes
They are plotting and planning together
To take me by surprise.

A sudden rush from the stairway,
A sudden raid from the hall!
By three doors left unguarded
They enter my castle wall!

They climb up into my turret
O'er the arms and back of my chair;
If I try to escape, they surround me;
They seem to be everywhere.

They almost devour me with kisses,
Their arms about me entwine,
Till I think of the Bishop of Bingen
In his Mouse-Tower on the Rhine!

Do you think, o blue-eyed banditti,
Because you have scaled the wall,
Such an old mustache as I am
Is not a match for you all!

I have you fast in my fortress,
And will not let you depart,
But put you down into the dungeon
In the round-tower of my heart.

And there will I keep you forever,
Yes, forever and a day,
Till the walls shall crumble to ruin,
And moulder in dust away!

Yes, forever, forever and a day. That is how long I shall keep you... How great is our God!!!

2008-02-10T19:11:00.001-07:00

Is guilt a good motivator? Is it what keeps home-schoolers going and actually turning in tests on time? Is it what keeps this blog running? Sometimes I think it is...

Irregardless and nonetheless, it is time I updated. But what should I say? Life is going on much as it always is. We are getting used to having a baby in the house (and I must say, I am spoiling him...), and school is going much as it always has.

So I will put down a few random thoughts. First of all, I am so glad that we are car-pooling with Dad to school now! He works only a few minutes up the road from us, and since we are taking classes the first two periods this semester, he gets there at a good time.

Our car was having pretty serious issues with its battery back in January, acting as if I was leaving the lights on all the time. We drove it up to Denver for a debate scrimmage, had to get it jumped twice while up there, and then only got home by God’s grace (it’s always by God’s grace, but this time it was more obvious that He was taking care of us), which included going 10 miles per hour on the snowy highway, bumper-to-bumper... At least I could see in front of me, though! It was rather cold, unfortunately, because we couldn’t run the lights and the wipers and the heater for fear of killing the batter...

Because the Camaro (wonderful car that it is) was having issues, we drove the Geo Metro into town for about a week. I got to be skilled (maybe not better...ask Lydia if you want an honest opinion) at driving manual cars, which is good. We finally discovered what made the Camaro die: a malfunctioning cigarette lighter that wouldn’t pop all the way out and thus sucked all the energy out of the batter. *mumbles under breath about cigarette lighters* :-P

I had a math quiz on Thursday (Thursday is normally quiz day) and got a better grade than I had expected. The front row is so much more conducive to good learning than any other row! I am serious.

We have a speech and debate tournament this next week, starting Wednesday and going through Saturday. It is a National Open, which means if we do well enough, we will be qualified to go directly to Nationals (do not pass Go, do not collect $200). Sweetuh! I am expecting some stiff competition and to not qualify, but it will still be a lot of fun, and I hope that we do at least moderately well. The last time we participated in this tournament, my partner (Lydia) and I were totally creamed. *sigh*

So what is predestination? What is free will? God gives us the choice to choose Him, right? But He is the One that gives us the desire to know and have Him in our lives. We cannot even stir up the desire to know Him!

I propose what my dad told me to all of you: God created us. We chose to turn away from Him. Because we turned away from Him, we are totally dead. There is not even a spark of life in us.

But God, in His infinite mercy, chose some of us to give Life to. That is where predestination comes into play. He offers His Holy Spirit to us, and because He chose us and offers us such irresistible grace, we cannot but choose to accept His amazing offer.

Before you offer objections, hear me further. God’s grace is irresistible, but we still have the choice to turn away. Recall the parable of the sower who sowed seed on different types of soil.

Some people are offered grace but then choose (free will) to not grow in Christ but go their own ways. Ouch!!! So we have a harmony of free will and predestination. It seems to make sense to me, although this is a huge issue and I do not believe we can fully know what God is thinking when He chooses only a few.

But Dad explained it this way: We were completely dead. We chose to be dead. We totally rejected Christ and wanted to live in darkness. But He chose some of us (and those of us who were chosen are not somehow better than those who were not—we were equally dead) and not others. I cannot protest this way of working because He could have chosen to leave all of us in death without knowing Him. He has revealed Himself to all mankind, but we have rejected Him. So His revealing to some of us is amazing grace in and of itself, and I cannot protest His not revealing Himself to all of us—because He DID, but we’ve turned away from Him. (Am I making my point? I’m probably repeating myself now.)

I do not think this is even an issue of free will versus predestination as much as realization of several crucial facts:

1. Christ died for all mankind. Why would He do this? Because
2. All mankind has fallen. We are totally wicked. If you think we aren’t, go visit the penitentiary. Better yet, stub your toe...
3. But even though we are wicked, He died for all of us. Not all have chosen to receive His amazing gift, but that does not nullify the fact that it is indeed amazing and far beyond what we deserve. I say we. I certainly do not deserve the amazing gift He chose to bestow on me!

So those are my thoughts on free will and predestination. I welcome your ideas/comments/arguments. May God bless you as you seek to know Him more!

2008-01-24T16:08:00.000-07:00

Babies are the most amazing creatures. I do not want to make anyone jealous, but I want to state a fact: they ARE amazing, and I am so blessed to have a baby brother.

I remember having feelings of utter hopelessness that we would ever have a baby in the house. Ben was about two years old when Dad was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. After his surgeries (he also got a gangrenous large intestine about a month or so after his initial surgery to get rid of the cancer), we were all pretty occupied with trying to get Dad healthy.

But a year later, he was (and still is) doing pretty well, and I began to wonder… “Are we ever going to have babies in the house again?” So I began to pray. For triplets. To this day, Mom thanks God for not answering my prayers…

Mom did not seem to be showing signs of getting pregnant, and I am not as faithful as I should be, so I started praying less and less for triplets. Then, two summers ago around the dinner table in May or April, Mom and Dad gave us some exciting news: We were going to have a baby! Wow. We were so excited, and it was pretty hard to believe. I had a hard time not jumping up and telling the whole world until they gave us permission to do so.

At this point, you may be wondering: Two summers ago is over two years, and babies are only in the womb nine months. What am I missing? You are missing nothing, sadly. The baby died after about two months in the womb. We were heartbroken and grieved for a long time. Every time I saw a baby, I had this intense sadness of missing someone I had not even met. Strange feeling…

So when Mom and Dad again made an announcement at dinner this last June (I think it was June… Time is so relative, and my memory so short. :-P), we were again really excited, but much more cautious. We had hope, but were a little more cynical because of losing the last baby. This time, VERY fervent prayers went up to heaven, asking for the health of both mother and child.

Now there is a baby upstairs in the cradle. His name is Peter. He is the most precious baby I have ever seen. Sure, he is REALLY cute (as if you will take it from a biased big sister—you will just have to see him yourself), but he is more than that. He is a promise that God never forsakes His children, that He loves them so much, and that He blesses beyond compare.

In fact, realizing the blessing little Peter is, it is actually a PRIVILEGE to change his diaper! Imagine that…

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Now I want to change tracks a little bit and share with you an excerpt that has had a profound impact on me.

Hope

By C.S. Lewis, from The Joyful Christian

Hope is one of the Theological virtues. This means that a continual looking forward to the eternal world is not (as some modern people think) a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do. It does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is. If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the Slave Trade, all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get Earth "thrown in": aim at Earth and you will get neither. It seems a strange rule, but something like it can be seen at work in other matters. Health is a great blessing, but the moment you make health one of your main, direct objects you start becoming a crank and imagining there is something wrong with you. You are only likely to get health provided you want other things more—food, games, work, fun, open air. In the same way, we shall never save civilization as long as civilization is our main object. We must learn to want something else more.

Most of us find it very difficult to want “Heaven” at all—except insofar as “Heaven” means meeting again our friends who have died. One reason for this difficulty is that we have not been trained: our whole education tends to fix our minds on this world. Another reason is that when the real want for Heaven is present in us, we do not recognize it. Most people, if they had really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise. The longings which arise in us when we first fall in love, or first think of some foreign country, or first take up some subject that excites us, are longings which no marriage, no travel, no learning, can really satisfy. I am not now speaking of what would ordinarily be called unsuccessful marriages, or holidays, or learned careers. I am speaking of the best possible ones. There was something we grasped at, in that first moment of longing, which just fades away in reality. I think everyone knows what I mean. The wife may be a good wife, and the hotels and scenery may have been excellent, and chemistry may have been an interesting job: but something has evaded us.

2008-01-22T17:07:00.000-07:00

Last night, I saw this thing in our room. And not just ANY thing. A thing blowing in the breeze by the window. Wait… The breeze was coming IN our window! And the thing was a spider web by the window!!!

So we have a double whammy: not only does our window leak (I don’t mind that as much, since Esther has to sleep right by it, not me… :D ), but there is a SPIDER WEB in OUR ROOM!!!! Lydia kindly pointed it out to us right before we hopped into our warm beds…

Now you have a perfectly useless piece of information about our lives, let’s get into the real stuff.

….

…..

Okay, so there is not a whole lot of stuff going on besides the usual. School is going. Dad still has a job. Peter is alive and kicking. Mom is tired. The boys are noisy. My sisters are just as weird. And I’m still, well, me…

Tell me about your lives! I’d much rather hear about other people than listen to my head rattle with empty stuff. Maybe I’ll come up with *cough* another *cough* brilliant post one of these days.

Enjoying life right now,
Allegra :)

2008-01-14T16:27:00.000-07:00

It is Monday, January 14, 2008. 2008! Wow! For some reason it's hard to believe that it is 2008 and halfway through the first month of this year.

At the beginning of this year, I did not have many resolutions. Not sure why, but it just happened that way. I was not really prepared for a new year because of a crazy season with lots of speech and debate activities before/during it. My main resolution (and one, apparently, that I have gone on to try to forget) is to do a better job of encouraging my brothers in Christ in their walk with God.

Now I am finding myself up against a brick wall of sorts. That brick wall is what exactly I am supposed to be doing with relationships. Pick any relationship with someone I know, and you will probably find many ways that I could improve and am currently messing up.

My desire is to know and follow God's will. Even if I do not know what it is, I desperately want to do what I know will honor Him. That means focusing in Him in ALL the relationships I have right now. That is a difficult concept, because often I separate my relationships with people from my relationship with God, and never the twain shall meet.

But I think God has been telling me through numerous instances that I need to allow Him into the picture of my life. He gave me the relationships I have right now (Praise God!!!!), and I want to honor Him by giving them back to Him. That does not mean that they end, but rather, He is enthroned where He belongs.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I love people. Almost everyone who reads this is going to be a close friend of mine. I love you, whoever you are! You are precious to me! However, I want God to be the One honored in our friendship. As my friend, I ask you to hold me accountable to this goal.

On Eagles' Wings, by Michael Joncas

You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord,
Who abide in His shadow for life,
Say to the Lord: "My refuge,
My rock in whom I trust!"

The snare of the fowler will never capture you,
And famine will bring you no fear:
Under His wings your refuge,
His faithfulness your shield.

And he will raise you up on eagle's wings,
Bear you on the breath of dawn,
Make you to shine like the sun,
And hold you in the palm of His hand.

You need not fear the terror of the night,
Nor the arrow that flies by day;
Though thousands fall about you,
Near you it shall not come.

And he will raise you up on eagle's wings,
Bear you on the breath of dawn,
Make you to shine like the sun,
And hold you in the palm of His hand.

For to His angels He's given a command
To guard you in all of your ways;
Upon their hands they will bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.

And he will raise you up on eagle's wings,
Bear you on the breath of dawn,
Make you to shine like the sun,
And hold you in the palm of His hand.

Adaptation of Psalm 91

2008-01-12T16:17:00.001-07:00

I live in a boat. The boat has holes. Most of the holes I either make myself or just try to ignore. Because the boat has holes, though, water tends to get into the boat a lot.

Strange, that...

Most of my life seems to be spent ignoring the holes or bemoaning the fact that they exist. I put out my sails, confident that the wind will take me to my destination. I can sail along on the waves for a while, but sooner or later the holes begin to let the water back in, and I’m back where I started, trying to pump all the water out of the boat to survive.

Or I sit in the boat, staring at the holes, wishing they would go away. Every once in a while, usually after I realize just how big the hole is and how little I can do about it, I let the boat owner take over and work on it. But it takes time, and sometimes I just don’t want to wait. I want to be back on the water, skimming the waves, with the wind at my back and the sun on my face.

But I don’t like realizing the boat has holes or acknowledging the fact that I simply cannot do anything about them by myself. So I use people or food or the computer or anything to distract me. I can pretend to be happy, and for the time, while my mind is off those holes, I AM happy... Sort of.

It’s true that I don’t need to worry about the holes all the time. It’s not my job to fix them, only to bring the boat to the boat owner so He can fix them. But I’d rather sail.

Lord, my prayer today is this: Bring me back to You. I desperately need You. All the people You have put in my life are wonderful, but I need You.

Draw me close to You
Never let me go
I lay it all down again
To hear You say that I'm Your friend

You are my desire
No one else will do
'Cause nothing else could take Your place
To feel the warmth of Your embrace
Help me find the way
Bring me back to You

You're all I want
You're all I've ever needed
You're all I want
Help me know You are near
~ “Draw Me Close To You”

2008-01-11T15:25:00.000-07:00

So yes, Lydia posted on her blog. I feel so behind on things. Of course, I am in general. Life is so OVERWHELMING right now!!!! Guess it's part of being an oldest child and having the personality (freaking out over everything) that I do.

But here is the news: WE HAVE A BABY!!!!!! He doesn't have a name yet (I know...), but he was borh January 9, 2008, at 3:26 p.m. He was 8 lbs, 1/2 oz, and 20 1/2 inches long. He's so handsome!!!! (Yes, I'm biased, but I've also seen quite a few newborns, and he's remarkably good-looking for one).

WOOOOOOOOOT! *cough* Ahem. Yes, maturity. Mom, preceding this amazing occurence, was pregnant all summer, and now we have a baby and a very tired mom. :P Okay, all of us are tired.

Like I mentioned in my earlier post, all three girls went out to Salt Lake City for a speech and debate qualifier. Everyone kept warning me that the baby could be born while we were gone, but I really didn't believe it (riiiight, you may be thinking--hindsight is 20-20...). I also knew it was going to be a boy...which it is... Okay, so I was pretty sure about all this. Just ask everyone I told about it. :D

So we went to a looooong speech and debate qualifier (stress #1). On the way back home from our friends' house (who took us to Utah), our car broke down (stress #2). School started the next morning...at 6:30...and we got to bed at 11:30 pm... (stress #3).

THEN Mom went to the hospital Monday night, thinking she was going to have him (stress #4). She didn't that night, but it didn't make life easier, and it snowed, so we didn't go to school (stress #5). Now she's had the baby, and I'm in charge of all my siblings (stress #6).

But God is good. He is doing so much. I'm growing, I hope. He is amazing!

With that, I leave you. Lydia should be posting pictures, and I'll try to do so as well when I get another moment. I'm pretty tired right now, though, so this might not make a lot of sense. Your prayers (and rejoicing) would be wonderful.

2008-01-07T17:19:00.000-07:00

Well, it is over. We went out to Salt Lake City for a speech and debate tournament last week. I am so tired now.

Monday was New Year’s Eve. We did not do anything really special, but we did work at church in the gym. We got home late.

New Year’s Day was incredibly quiet. I spent most of the day preparing to leave. Happy New Year! It is 2008!!!

Wednesday morning, about 6 a.m., we headed out to go meet our friends who live two hours away. After loading our stuff into their super-sweet Suburban and chatting for a little while, we headed out for Salt Lake City, Utah.

Our friends have the sweetest gadgets: a satellite radio, a GPS navigator system (we call it the “bossy lady,” since it has a female voice that gave us directions), and two in-car DVD players they had bought to add on to the car. We had fun watching movies such as Live Free, Die Hard and Spiderman 3. After hours in the car, we arrived at our destination, signed in at the tournament, and skipped the mandatory meeting because our friends’ baby was tired.

The next day, Thursday, 5 January, speech and debate began in earnest. I was so emotionally strung up that some of the smallest things made me so stressed. I love tournaments...

Our first debate, we were Affirmative against a SALT team. We had debated them at Yuletide, and we were Affirmative then too, but they were better prepared this time. We ended up winning that round.

The next round was much harder. Let me say right now that I really dislike going Negative this year. The Affirmative cases are amazing, and there is not much to say against them against a few logistical problems... Grr.

Anyway, the next round was against a Colorado team. We were Negative. Their case is good. They are good speakers. They are cool guys. We lost.

After that, we had speeches. I gave an extemporaneous speech on this years’ election being the most dishonest (or is it?—that was the question) of any. I did not do very well, but one of the judges gave me 2nd place, while another gave me 4th. Since I usually get 5th and Below, that was so nice!

My Persuasive, which I gave before extemp, was REALLY short. As in, it is usually 10:45, but it was 6 something minutes. Ouch. Esther also competed in Persuasive.

After this round of speech was over, we dove into another debate. This time we were Affirmative against a Forum team. Our judge was a college student who nodded vigorously and laughed when I made some of my points. I felt rather bad when she didn’t for the other team. We won that debate as well.

After that debate, we had another speech round. I did not compete this time, as there are two patterns to accommodate all the types of speech we have. Esther and Lydia did their OIs, Esther competed in DUO with Laura, and Lydia competed in Impromptu.

After speech, we had one final debate for the evening. We were Negative against another SALT team, and I think we did a rather poor job of arguing. They were good, too, and they won.

The next morning, I think debate started the day off. We ended up debating the friends we rode out with... Oy vey! We were Negative again, and we totally lost. But the judge liked me, apparently, and gave me first speaker over the stronger speaker, in my opinion, on the Affirmative team. Oh well.

We also debated another team (we were Affirmative) from The Forum. They were very much first-years, and I was quite impressed with how well they did. Nonetheless, we won (Affirmative is SO MUCH EASIER). Esther got the highest speaker points possible to get in that debate, and I was only 1 point behind her. That was cool.

I also had the chance to watch several friends’ OIs, Persuasives, DIs, DUOs, and OOs. Josh’s OI had me almost rolling on the floor with laughter. It was about his mom and all the lessons she has taught him. E-mail me if you know me well enough to have my e-mail, and I’ll tell you who it was so you can watch him next time he does it.

Yesterday we drove home, leaving at 8:30 a.m., and getting home at 11:30 p.m. We would have been home a little sooner (though not much—ALL HAIL DAD!!!) if it hadn’t been for our Camaro springing a rather large leak in the radiator hose. As we sat at the stoplight watching steam pour out from under the hood, I decided that maybe it would be wise to pull over and let Dad know what was going on. He came and rescued us. He’s amazing.

Today was the first day of school. I got up at 6:30 a.m. I’m exhausted.

Now I’ve updated. I wish I could be more complete and tell what amazing jobs my friends and sister did (they ROCKED!!!!!), but I have laundry awaiting me. Until later!

2007-12-18T18:54:00.000-07:00

This is my Persuasive script. Utah people are not allowed to look at it, except if they want to give constructive criticism. :P But seriously, I need to cut down on this speech a bit (it's about 10:45 right now), and I've been told that quoting the King James Version of the Bible makes me seem old-fashioned. What think?

~*+*~

When will this confusion, this anxiety, these unnamed, awful feelings GO AWAY?!? When will I learn to control my feelings and not spill my guts on the people I love most? Will it be when I die? When I grow up?

When WILL I grow up? Will being an adult be any better than right now? Or will I have these feelings ten times stronger but be expected to control myself even more than I do already?

I HATE being a teenager! No one really understands what I’m going through. No one has answers. I wish I could just die and be done with this misery! Does anyone care? Is anyone listening?

Hear the cry of a teenager. She is broken. She is confused. She does not understand why she does what she does, why she feels what she feels, or how to deal with it. Worst of all, she has no one to help her. She has no hope.

Teenagers face a lot of difficulties and seek affirmation, understanding, and love in an evil world. The relationships with their parents are in shambles and expected to be that way. But the problems teens face cannot be dealt with well by inexperienced adolescents. They require the guidance of parents who care, as well as the listening of teens who want to succeed in a world populated with traps of all kinds.

My desire is for teenagers and their parents to establish good relationships with each other. I strongly believe that we could turn the world upside-down if we would draw closer to one another and work with each other to get through the traps laid for us teenagers.

Before we even begin viewing the issues that teenagers struggle with, the state of relationships between parents and teens, and finally how this can be solved, let me add my obvious disclaimer for adults: I am a teenager talking about teenagers. You could expect to receive advice like “Buy more candy for your kids! Let them have cell phones and listen to whatever music they like! Make their allowances REALLY BIG! Let them do what they want!” I certainly won’t tell you that or give you other advice on parenting, but I would like you to come away from this speech with an urgent desire and a way to change the parent/teen relationships we see today.

Before understanding the desperate need for change in parent/teen relationships in today’s world, we have to understand the nature of the beast, namely, the teenager and what he faces.

I’ve asked several people who are past their adolescent years if they would want to be a teenager again. The reaction I got was one that surprised me, though it probably shouldn’t—teenagers fight similar battles, no matter which generation we talk about. None of them would be willing to be a teenager again if given the chance, unless it was to go back and correct a mistake.

Teenagers face a confusing world. We often do not know what our purpose in life is, and we’re told to follow our hearts. We don’t always know what our heart wants, having constant mood swings, and usually end up just making stupid decisions that could haunt us the rest of our lives. If that isn’t a recipe for disaster, I don’t know what is.

In addition, teenagers are remarkably stupid. I mean no insult to any of my peers, but we are some of the silliest creatures! You have probably heard a horror story of what teenagers do if you haven’t been involved with a silly decision yourself: A perfectly sane kid, while out with some friends, decides that he wants to drag race in the middle of town, killing himself and his two younger siblings riding along; a good friend wants to see what beer tastes like and decides she likes it, thereby beginning a life of alcoholism. Another one feels as though she will never be attractive to the guys she likes, so she has a one-night stand with someone she doesn’t even know, becoming a single mother at 16.

Looking at teenagers from the inside, I think one of the most difficult things they face is confusion. They need to be preparing for their future, but they are told by all the “experts” (*cough* Walt Disney) that they should follow their hearts. Following their hearts usually includes partying late into the night, becoming part of the coolest clique, and getting members the opposite sex to notice them. It’s a lot more “fun” than what their parents tell them to do. Never mind the ensuing hangovers and heartbreak.

Parents, teenagers are going through a hard time. You know this because you’ve been there and you see them growing up all around you. They want their parents’ advice, but they aren’t good at communicating that such is the case. They need their parents’ advice, but they might not be willing to admit it. So then, what is preventing the communication that is the solution to good parent/teen relationships? Teenagers need parents, but the parent/teen relationship is in shambles today.

Rebellion is expected of teenagers. Our parents are told that they need to enjoy their young children before they reach adolescence. Movies portray parents as imbeciles who have to be rescued by their incredibly wise offspring (generally a teenager). In a world latent with abortion, teenagers are told that they wouldn’t be alive if they hadn’t come at a convenient time for their parents.

The message, then, that teens get is that our parents are morons who do not know how to identify with us, who have never been through what we are going through, and are afraid of us. We are encouraged to rebel against this less fully-evolved generation so that our next generation can get rid of the weaknesses of the former one. Is it any wonder that we have a problem?

Parents are afraid of their own children because they don’t know how to direct their kids through the tricky stage of adolescence. Because they fear their own children, everyone loses because the parents are not able to help their own children, losing authority over them, and the teenagers do not get the advice from the ones they desperately want it from.

I suppose, really, that you do not need to be persuaded that teenagers face a difficult world or that parent/teen relationships are in shambles. You see the effect of them all around you. The rate of unmarried teen moms is mind-bogglingly high and suicides had the largest annual increase in 2004, rising more than they have in 15 years (Wall Street Journal, Suicide), to name a few of the heart-wrenching facts that come as a result.

So we understand that there is a problem. Now we reach the crux of the matter: How to fix it so that teenagers can survive today and establish a standard for the next generation. This is a difficult job and not for the faint of heart. Both parents and teenagers have a job to do. Both involve communication and listening.

Let me begin by addressing the teenagers’ responsibility and what they need to be doing.

We teenagers are not somehow more evolved and thus better than our parents. We are going through a time where we need help in order to become adults who can have a good impact on the rest of the world. If anything has changed since our parents’ time, it is that our struggles have increased. That doesn’t mean that our parents’ experience suddenly becomes worthless; rather, it becomes crucial to possessing so that we can fight the new battles and fight them well.

Teenagers may be struggling with complicated issues. We may be struggling with trying to walk through a room without knocking over anything, how to act around our friends, how to resist peer pressure, or how to deal with the last relationship that just didn’t work. We may wish all the confusion would just END. But I don’t care. We teenagers have been commanded to honor our parents (Holy Bible, Deut.5.16). We weren’t told to honor and respect our parents…when we feel like it…or when we’re in a good mood…or to get something we want.

In addition to honoring our parents, we teenagers need to be willing to talk to our parents. Talking to our parents does not mean yelling at them. It can be something as basic as telling them how our day at school was or what we thought of the sermon. Not only do we need to talk to them, we also need to listen to our parents! I know, it’s a tough concept. But it is possible. I know because I’ve tried and haven’t died yet.  And the amazing thing is that sometimes they have good advice. Even more amazing is how they become smarter as we become older…

Before explaining what parents can do to change the mess we’re in, I want to point out that what you do today will have impact on tomorrow. How you raise your children will affect how they raise their children. With that in mind, let’s dive into the task of involvement, discussed by Dennis and Barbara Rainey in their book Parenting Today’s Adolescent.

Involvement means crawling into your child’s heart and mind, no matter what you may find in there. You will probably be rejected because we teenagers don’t know what we need and what’s best for us. You need to get into your kids’ lives, but by winning and not shoving your way in.

Once you are in your teen’s confidence, you need to ask questions about them and listen. Attentively. You also need to let them know that you love them (32-34). Even if they do not respond significantly at first to your interest in their lives, they will gradually begin to appreciate the fact that you do care about them, and will slowly begin to open up to you as someone they can trust.

Parents, your involvement in your teenagers’ lives is critical. Remember your teen years. I don’t ask that you give your child slack so that they can have a bad attitude, but I do ask that you would open the lines of communication and encourage them to draw near to you. As our heavenly Father commands us, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you” (Holy Bible: King James Version. Jam.4.8), so you must “draw nigh” unto your children so that they will “draw nigh” unto you.

We have seen that teenagers are going through a difficult time just by being a teenager, that they do not have the relationships that they need with their parents, and finally how we can change that problem so that parents and teens can learn and grow from one another. We need to change so that the next generation of teenagers will have a standard of looking up to their parents for help so that the young woman will not be a teenager with no help but one with answers to survive her adolescence and change the next generation.

Works Cited

Rainey, Dennis, Barbara Rainey, and Bruce Nygren. Parenting Today’s Adolescent: Helping Your Child Avoid the Traps of the Preteen and Teen Years. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers, 1998.

Dooren, Jennifer Corbett. “Suicides Increase by 8% in the 10 to 24 Age Group.” The Wall Street Journal Online 7 Sept.2007. 7 Dec. 2007

2007-12-03T19:57:00.001-07:00

So much happens. Doesn't God understand that I can only handle so much at a time? I guess not... Perhaps He knows something I don't. As it is, a lot has happened in a short amount of time. (Wait...didn't I already say something like that?)

Anyway, God has a really strange way of working. He doesn't let us have what we want when we want it. He waves a carrot in front of our noses. Once we realize that we REALLLY want it, He takes it away until we decide that our lives don't revolve around that carrot. Then He might give us back the carrot, though it doesn't always work that way. It depends on what He's trying to teach us...

I'm beginning to realize what Dad tried to tell me before (although now he says he wasn't meaning to say it out loud--he wanted me to figure it out for myself): God will not give us what we want until we actually let go of it. The more WE try to hold onto something precious, the less He will let us have it. Gee, I should have let go a long time ago... But then again, I know He uses pain to speak to us in a way that being happy wouldn't.

Perhaps related to this topic, perhaps not are my thoughts... I began to realize about a month and a half ago that I do not want romance in my life. I'm not trying to put myself in a glass box, but, well, I guess I am. You see, I've decided that I'd far rather be friends with lots of guys rather than choose one to just give my heart to.

The last time I loved someone, the cutting off of it hurt more than I could even describe (though you can be sure that I tried). I'm not trying to protect myself from pain (though it sounds nice) - only God can really do that and do it well if He wants to. But, like I said, God uses pain sometimes.

No, my decision is different from attempting to close myself off from the rest of the world. It means not finding just one person but many to love. It means growing in friendships. It means not setting myself up for failure by falling head-over-heels.

Isn't this the best time in life to be friends with guys anyways? Heck, I think being friends with guys is probably a better way of meeting your future spouse than choosing one specific guy to be "his girlfriend". The whole girlfriend-boyfriend thing is highly overrated because we teenagers don't need romance right now.

Ay yi yi. I'm turning this into what Lydia's friend would call 'The Fluff of Oratory.' Guess what I'm trying to say is that while I still have the desire for romance, it's going on the back burner to develop for Mr. Right. In the meantime, I'm so excited about learning how to be friends with guys and not be self-conscious every time I spend time with one. Romance distorts perspective, but friendship allows freedom for all.

I've probably proposed something rather weird. Maybe you've got questions or arguments against what I've just said. I welcome what you have to say with open ears. This is still in the developing stages of a "scientific theory," if you will. All supporting and contradictory evidence is welcome in order to gain a full perspective. :D

In other news, life...is...crazy!!!! Again, I wonder what exactly God is thinking. It's really awesome to plug into His thoughts via the Bible, but that's another topic for another day (or another week/month at this rate). Last Friday was a debate tournament. Lydia and her partner went 4-0, winning ALL their debates! Dang, she's good.

Esther and I did okay. I'm quite happy with how we did. First round we hit Enos/Liddard and were Aff. We didn't exactly get creamed, but we ran into a lot of new arguments that we weren't prepared to address. They're great practice! It was a lot of fun, too. We lost that one.

Second round we hit Malenke/Watson and were Neg. Why is it that every time I hit Parker I don't have the negative brief printed off that I need but it's sitting on the computer at home?!?!? Oh well... It was an interesting debate. We lost that one as well.

Lunch must have been really good for Esther and I, because our third round afterwards was against Moon/Tullis, and we were Aff. At Gold last spring, they kept Lydia and Hillary from breaking to outrounds, so we were kind of intimidated, but they did not have anything against our case, and we won that round.

The last debate of the day was interesting. They had paired up experienced debaters against experienced debaters the rest of the day, but this last round was power-matched, and novices were against experienced debaters. We hit a totally new team, who won't exist the rest of the year (which is good, since I forget the other dude's last name...). Oh! Childs/Watson. They were remarkably good for first-year debaters. We were Negative against their case (one that I particularly dislike, as it is totally non-topical) and won that round.

This Saturday we drive down to Pueblo for a speech tournament. None of my speeches are really ready. Oh well. I love procrastination. One of these days I might even tell you the benefits of it.

Hope all is well with you, dear reader. May God bless you.

An Old Irish Blessing

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

2007-11-23T18:29:00.000-07:00

It has been a week since I last updated. So much happens in so little time. At least, it feels like a lot happens. Maybe it doesn't. Maybe I think too much. That seems to be my common affliction.

I should quit whining. Wherever you are, dear reader, I hope you are well and that God is growing and blessing you.

Today I worked on my persuasive, so here's how it looks right now. As always, your thoughts and ideas are VERY welcome.

~*+*~

“All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts…”
~William Shakespeare, from the play As You Like It

Life is indeed like a play. It is a comedy, a tragedy, a romance, and confusion, sometimes all at the same time. As you go through the play, you begin to see more order and it begins to make sense. But there are times when you, the actor, seem to be in a hurricane.

One of the biggest, most life-changing acts in the play is adolescence. It comes after birth and childhood, which set the stage for this scary act. The main characters in this play are the teenagers, but the other main actors are, surprisingly, the teenagers’ parents.

Let us meet the cast before we examine the script of this play and see how the presence of interaction between the main characters is crucial for getting through this scene safely and setting the stage for the next act. Finally, after we have watched the play in its entirety, we shall evaluate the performance and the script and try to perfect this story so that there is hope for the next generation.

Going behind the scenes, we meet some impressive people who will play the parts of mother, father and teenager in this act. Mom and Dad have distinctly different jobs and yet are considered one joint actor called “the parents”. The teenager is separate. Both the parents and the teenager have remarkably difficult jobs to perform, and both require quite a bit of work to do well.

Let us start with Mom. My mom is what people call a stay-at-home mom. What is her job description for this play? In Mom, You’re Incredible! (pp. 23-24), Linda Weber quotes a fan of Ann Landers:

I’m so tired of all those ignorant people who come up to my husband and ask him if his wife has a full-time job or if she’s ‘just a housewife.’ Please print this letter and shed some light on this sorely under-valued occupation. Thank you. Here is my job description.

     I’m a wife, mother, friend, confidante, personal advisor, lover, referee, peacemaker, housekeeper, laundress, chauffer, interior decorator, gardener, painter, wallpaperer, dog groomer, veterinarian, manicurist, barber, seamstress, appointment manager, financial planner, bookkeeper, money manager, personal secretary, teacher, disciplinarian, entertainer, psychoanalyst, nurse, diagnostician, public relations expert, dietitian and nutritionist, baker, chef, fashion coordinator and letter writer for both sides of the family.
     I am also a travel agent, speech therapist, plumber and automobile maintenance and repair expert. During the course of the day, I am supposed to be cheerful, look radiant and jump in the sack on a moment’s notice.
     From the studies done, it would cost more than $75,000 a year to replace me. I took time out of my busy day to write this letter, Ann, because there are still ignorant people who believe a housewife is nothing more than a babysitter who sits on her behind all day and looks at soap operas.
     If I could afford to pay someone to do all the things that I do, I would be delighted to go back to working an eight-hour day with an hour for lunch and two fifteen-minute breaks.
     What do I get out of my job in the absence of a salary? Joy, happiness, hugs, kisses, smiles, love, self-respect and pride in knowing that I have done a full day’s work to ensure the physical and emotional well-being of those I love.
     Now if you still want to classify me as just a housewife, go ahead.

Really, there is even more that goes into a stay-at-home mom’s job than even this woman could list, but it will do for now. Telling of a mother’s job and how important she is would take up entire scene.

2007-11-09T07:38:00.000-07:00

I love this song by Elliott Yamin:

[Verse 1]

I never felt nothing in the world like this before
Now I'm missing you
& I'm wishing that you would come back through my door
Why did you have to go? You could have let me know
So now I'm all alone,
Girl you could have stayed
but you wouldnt give me a chance
With you not around it's a little bit more then i can stand
And all my tears they keep running down my face
Why did you turn away?

[Bridge]

So why does your pride make you run and hide?
Are you that afraid of me?
But I know it's a lie what you keep inside
This is not how you wanted to be

[Chorus]

So baby I will wait for you
Cause I don''t know what else i can do
Don't tell me I ran out of time
If it takes the rest of my life

Baby I will wait for you
If you think I'm fine it just aint true
I really need you in my life
No matter what i have to do I'll wait for you

[Verse 2]

It's been a long time since you called me
(How could you forget about me)
You got me feeling crazy (crazy)
How can you walk away,
Everything stays the same
I just can't do it baby
What will it take to make you come back
Girl I told you what it is & it just ain't like that
Why can't you look at me, your still in love with me
Don't leave me crying.

[Bridge]

Baby why can't we just start over again
Get it back to the way it was
If you give me a chance I can love you right
But your telling me it wont be enough

[Chorus]

So baby I will wait for you
Cause I don''t know what else i can do
Don't tell me I ran out of time
If it takes the rest of my life

Baby I will wait for you
If you think I'm fine it just aint true
I really need you in my life
No matter what i have to do I'll wait for you

[Bridge]

So why does you pride make you run & hide
Are you that afriad of me?
But I know it's a lie what your keeping inside
Thats not how you wanted to be

Baby I will wait for you
Baby I will wait for you
If it's the last thing i do

[Chorus]

Baby I will wait for you
Cause I don''t know what else i can do
Don't tell me I ran out of time
If it takes the rest of my life

Baby I will wait for you
If you think I'm fine it just aint true
I really need you in my life
No matter what i have to do I'll wait for you

I'll Be Waiting.

2007-11-08T14:11:00.000-07:00

Okay, okay, so I've been *encouraged* to update by a fellow blogger. So here goes.

Lydia took pictures of me last night. I'm horribly vain and self-centered, so I'm posting them. Ta dah!

Oh, and I may seem pretty obsessed with my hair, but Lydia said it would make the best pictures... So now you know...the REST of the story. ;-)

School is going okay. We had a quiz today. Our teacher made it, and she didn't even know the answer to the second problem. Needless to say, I think I failed it.

Debate, biology and speech are falling behind. I'm *attempting* to stay on top of math, english, spanish and chemistry, but that's hard enough. Grr.

Life seems too difficult to bear right now. Especially at night when I start thinking. Guess it's unhealthy to think...because when I do, I get horribly depressed. And depression isn't fun. I wonder if it's the #1 killer of teenagers, and if so, if anyone is suprised.

But I have hope.

Romans 5:1-5

1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;

4perseverance, character; and character, hope.

5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Perhaps I'm foolish. Perhaps I should not hope. But I can't help it.

Check out these awesome verses from Ruth, too!

Ruth 1:16-17

16 But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.

17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me."

Ruth 2:11-12

11 Boaz replied, "I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before.

12 May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge."

Isaiah 12
Songs of Praise

1 In that day you will say:

"I will praise you, O LORD.

Although you were angry with me,

your anger has turned away

and you have comforted me.
2 Surely God is my salvation;

I will trust and not be afraid.

The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song;

he has become my salvation."
3 With joy you will draw water

from the wells of salvation.
4 In that day you will say:

"Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;

make known among the nations what he has done,

and proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things;

let this be known to all the world.
6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,

for great is the Holy One of Israel among you."

I particularly like Isaiah 12:3. I don't know why, but I keep coming back to it.

So there's my update. All my wonderful readers should be happy. :-P

2007-10-16T09:41:00.001-06:00

An update is in order, I suppose. Where should I begin?

Okay, let us start with my job. I am done. Last Saturday was my last day. I can not tell you how GOOD it feels to get that off my plate! Though I love the people there, I cannot stand their language, the 10-hour shifts, or the inability to do anything at home.

Math is going okay. We got a new teacher last Monday, and I have had a hard time understanding what she is trying to tell us. So I am doing my homework much more diligently. The only way I was able to understand one of the really difficult problems yesterday when we were working on them was by explaining it to two different classmates.

English is also okay. We have a classmate who I am trying to be kind to, but I am rather tired of him. He is obnoxious and arrogant enough to think that he can “punish” me by not talking to me for a whole week! Okay, so he’s a decent kid, but he has his times when I’d be more than happy to string him up by his toenails.

We are all learning Spanish using Rosetta Stone’s curriculum. I have to admit I’m not exactly an expert at the language yet, but we’ve got a ways to go yet. It’s actually fun, and I really am learning stuff. Ben and Mom are working together, and I think Ben is getting ahead of Mom… :-P

For science this year, I’m taking Biology and Chemistry simultaneously. That’s because I’ve already spent two years on Biology and still need to finish it. Guess that’s what I get for procrastinating and wanting to be a nurse. Not a good combination…

Lately I’ve been experiencing panic attacks and depression. They both consist of my being sure that I have about twenty deadlines (or so it seems…I only have about seven courses, so it can’t be that much) and absolutely no time to do anything. I’m sure I could target the reason, but it’s still really annoying. Why can’t I just go about my life and not have to deal with new problems?

So life is piling up on me. I’m not sure when I shall ever see a light at the end of the tunnel (assuming there is one and that life doesn’t just get harder and harder), but I’m hoping I don’t break before the end of the year. It’s a good reminder that I need to trust God. I…need…to…TRUST…GOD!!! His will is good. He is loving. Yeah…that sort of basic stuff.

Life is difficult. It probably won’t get easier. But that’s life. And other people have survived, so it’s possible for me. …If that’s any reassurance, which it really isn’t. But yeah, I’m alive and God is still in control. So there’s my update.

2007-09-19T19:49:00.000-06:00

This weekend was—um—interesting. Whenever my biggest little brother says that, it usually means that things blew up. Heh; we usually cringe and look for the fire extinguisher when he says something was “interesting”.

But yeah, this weekend was interesting. I had sufficient warnings beforehand about not freezing to death or being eaten by a bear, but it turned out that neither was likely to happen because we stayed at a campground (first time I’ve ever done that) in a tiny cabin (which barely fit all seven of us in it). I spent the first day attempting to revive from all that has happened in the last week and from school.

We started out the trip Friday afternoon after Lydia and I were done with school, which was about 3 in the afternoon. Lydia and I headed over to Dad’s office, which is about five minutes from school, and then waited with him for Mom and the rest of the gang and our stuff to arrive. We subsequently piled into the van and headed off to Buena Vista (which means “Beautiful View”), which took about two hours to reach. Lydia drove part of the way...I’m not saying anything bad about her driving, though, as she has to put up with mine at least five days a week. :P

Once we had arrived at the campground, we set out to unpack everything and set up our beds for the evening. That accomplished, most of us went for a little hike on the campground. We climbed some impressive boulders, and I went off to sit by myself and admire the beauty of the valley, the fascinatingly white mountains (the Collegiate Range—specifically Mt. Princeton), and the soft sunset.

Wait, I forgot supper! Ahem...let all who travel along Hwy. 24 to or from Buena Vista stop in Hartsel at Dorothy’s restaurant; she has the most incredible tamales. They are fantastic! I’d never had them before, but I’m pretty sure I don’t want to try anyone else’s. So yes, I’ve done my duty and promoted her tamales; back to the rest of the weekend.

The next day, Saturday, I slept in. Lydia did too. While we were taking showers, the rest of the gang went into Buena Vista (the campground was located a bit outside) to get breakfast. When they returned, we were showered and ready to go, so we all headed up into the mountains.

Dad drove most of the way, but (oh horror of horrors!) Esther also did a little bit on the way up the pass. *screech* Let me back up a little and let me give you a brief history of Esther’s driving:
Driving our little S-10 around the back of the property and a little bit on the road between our two driveways
...
That is all...
Needless to say, it scared most of the females in our car. That’s putting it lightly.

Dad was a little frustrated that we didn’t enjoy getting out, walking around, and driving around on the mountain. But I did get the sleep I needed; some of it I got while sitting on the porch of the campground office in a rocking chair, looking at the mountains and the green fields in the distance and writing; some of it I got by getting to bed at an early hour and getting up later than usual. It was really good, because I was feeling depressed, and school was not helping

God said so much to me during that time! For example (and I won’t share everything...):
Psalm 107:1-9
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the LORD say this—those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.
Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle.
They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away.
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them in their distress.
He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle.
Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for me,
for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

Psalm 125:1-2
Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and forevermore.

Psalm 127:1
Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.

He’s Crazy about You
If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it.
If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it.
He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning.
Whenever you want to talk, He’ll listen.
He can live anywhere in the universe, but He chose your heart.
What about the Christmas gift He sent you in Bethlehem; not to mention that Friday at Calvary.
Face it, He’s crazy about you.
~Max Lucado, from “A Gentle Thunder”

I don’t care much for Max Lucado, but the verse above really tugged at my heart...

“...safety, as the Cross shows, does not exclude suffering...trust in those strong arms means that even our suffering is under control. We are not doomed to meaninglessness. A loving Purpose is behind it all, a great tenderness even in the fierceness.” ~Elisabeth Elliot, “The Path of Loneliness,” p. 21

Job 32:8-9
But it is the Spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding.
It is not only the old [or many, or great] who are wise, not only the aged who understand what is right.

Psalm 124:8
Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 126:3, 5-6
The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.
Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.
He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.

“We may be earnestly desiring to be obedient and holy. But we may be missing the fact that is here, where we happen to be at this moment and not in another place or another time, that we may learn to love Him—here where it seems He is not at work, where His will seems obscure or frightening, where He is not doing what we expected Him to do, where He is most absent. Here and nowhere else is the appointed place. If faith does not go to work here, it will not go to work at all.” ~Elisabeth Elliot, “The Path of Loneliness,” p. 27

I will trust His rich promises of grace.

2007-09-13T14:43:00.000-06:00

Yes, I have been remiss in updating. I apologize, dear reader. Here is my disclaimer: This was written by someone who prefers to remain anonymous and is good at writing depressing things, no matter how they are feeling, so don't freak out (precious freaks, you know who you are... :P).

Hmm...where should I start? At the beginning? How much does one tell? How much stays in our memories to provoke, haunt, and tease us?

I am with about twenty other kids my age right now. I'm distracted for the most part from my problems, but every now and then, without warning, something will happen or some music will play, and I will break down. I don't exactly cry (I really don't want everyone to notice me...I'd rather go hide in a corner), but I get all teary and can't look at anyone for a few minutes.

"What happened?" you may be asking. But that's not what matters. What matters now is where I need to go. Do I run into someone's arms? Well, I'd love to, but humans can only offer us so much comfort. (Not saying that they can't and don't help...) I MUST turn to my heavenly Father, who does not change like the shifting shadows (James 1:17-18).

I am tempted to be mad at God right now. It feels like He allowed me to be really happy, happier than I thought I could have been, only to push me off the cloud. I made up a saying this morning: the higher up you are, the further down you have to fall. Not really deep or philosophical, but it does beg the question: if you are happy, does that mean you have to be careful that you don't get too happy so you can't be too disappointed? I THINK NOT!!!

Cynicism buys nothing. Just a lack of friendship and a gain in frustration. So what is the answer, then? If you are happy, you will eventually be unhappy, right? Well, I think I know what my problem was: I was happy, but it was based on this race called man. If I had based my happiness on God, I could have been happy even without having any interaction with that oh-so-fallible race called man. (Now I'm sounding like I'm going to become a hermit or a nun, but stick with me...)

Cynicism is, quite honestly, my cure when I have been hurt. It doesn't matter how good the people have been, how honorable they are. If I am hurt, I push out all possibilities and refuse to trust anyone else. But this is not right, because it's not man's fault that I got hurt so much. Getting hurt is my fault - not because I trusted someone, but because I am basing my personal happiness on the race of man.

When my heart feels like it will explode (and not with happiness), I remind myself of this: Our heavenly Father, who does not change like shifting shadows, wraps me in His arms and holds me as His precious child. "Yea, though I walk through the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For thou art with me..." Even in times of greatest trouble, where must I turn to keep from getting so depressed that I'd kill myself? (Yes, if you get depressed enough, thoughts of suicide do come.)

I MUST turn to my heavenly Father when I hurt and am lonely. I must, because no human being has the capability to love me or comfort me nearly as much as He does! I must, because He died for me. He loved and loves me so much that He died for me, a poor, miserable wretch, and made me His princess. Trusting Him, running to Him for my comfort is the least I can do!

2007-08-23T08:17:00.000-06:00

Here is an editorial, found in The Gazette this week, which talks about Zeke:

OPINION: Deaths of local teens are a reminder to live well
BY MILO BRYANT, THE GAZETTE
August 22, 2007 - 10:04PM
What would we do today if we knew we’d be gone tomorrow?

We don’t ask ourselves that question enough. More importantly, we don’t do justice to the answers because we think tomorrow always starts with the next sunrise.

But the sun doesn’t always rise.

For Ezekiel Peter Wetlesen, Diontea Jackson-Forrest and Fermin Alfonso Vialpando III, the sun set and stayed down much too soon.

Wetlesen, a former Evangelical Christian Academy basketball player, should be taking classes right now, preparing to become the math teacher he always wanted to be. He should be learning the tools it takes to further inspire young minds, giving them the moxie to explore their dreams the way he did.

Jackson-Forrest, who starred on the Wasson High School football team, should be getting ready to challenge for the starting running back spot at Western State College in Gunnison. On the football field, he should be leading by example right now, the same way he did at Wasson. Off it, he should be making people smile and creating the memories found on his many MySpace.com dedications.

And Vialpando, a football star and favorite son at Harrison High School, should be perfecting a palate-pleasing dish. Once working in the Wyndham kitchen and simultaneously taking culinary classes, Vialpando should be dreaming up plans for the kitchen in his own place.

Instead brain cancer took Wetlesen. His parents laid him to rest Friday at the Air Force Academy. He was 19.

An act of violence took Jackson-Forrest from his friends and family July 9. He was 19, too.

A virtually undetectable congenital birth defect took Vialpando during Harrison’s homecoming football game last year. He was 17.

These were three young athletes. Healthy. Strong. Vibrant. Adored by family, friends, teachers and coaches. Respected by their peers.

All three are gone when it appeared each had much to give. That’s the case too often. Those given the most potential rarely get to see it realized.

Their family and friends have been and will continue to revel in the joy that Zeke, Diontea and Fermin brought. And they’ll cry because the three won’t provide new memories.

I haven’t walked this road. Don’t ever want to. And it’s disrespectful to those close to them to attempt to convey that there is an understanding of what they’re going through.

Instead, folks could respect these young men by learning something about ourselves. Respect them by taking what we’ve learned and applying it to improve something about us each day.

This isn’t about carelessly tossing our worldly belongings and joining an extreme servitude group or about totally giving up activities we love. Our professions often add meaning and fill our lives with undoubting feelings.

This, however, is about taking an honest evaluation of one’s life and where it’s going.

Zeke knew what he wanted to do. He knew it a long time ago. And he started preparing for it. But Zeke was also lived with the indisputably somber and sobering knowledge that he might not live long enough to live his dream.

So, when it would have been perfectly fine to want to spend his days in as much happiness as possible, Zeke helped establish an endowment that would assist in supplementing salaries of deserving teachers. Until he lay down, Zeke was working to better himself and those around him.

We could learn something from that.

In the King James version of the Bible, Job 1:21, it says, “... the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ... ”

Forget religious denominations for a second and think about the words. It’s what we do between being given life and losing life that defines us.

What are we going to do today?

Columnist Milo F. Bryant can be reached at 636-0252 or milo.bryant@gazette.com. Check out Milo's blog, The Extra Milo, at http://milobryant.blogspot.com/ --

Pretty incredible, isn't it? It made me cry a little bit... He really has a good point! I think Zeke is what we call, even in modern-day language, a hero.

2007-08-16T08:55:00.000-06:00

Here is an obituary written for Zeke by his father. I still can't believe that Zeke is dead...oh, how his family must be struggling!

Ezekiel Peter Wetlesen
December 16, 1987- August 14, 2007

Ezekiel Peter Wetlesen was born on December 16, 1987, in Lafayette, Indiana. He is the third of ten children. He lived in Colorado, Georgia, Norway and Florida prior to returning to Colorado Springs to attend Evangelical Christian Academy as a freshman. Ezekiel enjoyed basketball and Bible studies while in high school. In March of 2005, Ezekiel was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. After emergency surgery, he underwent chemo and radiation therapy before returning to ECA in the fall of 2005 for his senior year. He continued on chemo therapy as he joined the Varsity Basketball team and played during the 2005-2006 season. In May of 2006, the Colorado Springs Rotary Club awarded him the “Spirit of Champions Award” at the 2006 Rotary Champions ceremony. This award is presented to an individual who not only displayed academic, athletic and community service achievements, but also overcomes major life obstacles and continues to generate a strong spirit and supportive attitude toward his peers and mentors. Ezekiel is a gentle giant in so many ways. He has blessed and inspired so many people with his courage, determination and humility. His servant heart shined through in all that he did. He set an indelible example to all those who knew him.

Ezekiel is survived by his parents David and Eloise; brother, Gabriel and his wife Susan, children Cheyenne and John David of Del Rio; brothers Michael of Albuquerque, Nathanael, Joel, Samuel, Daniel and Othniel of Colorado Springs and his two sisters, Faith and Hope, also of Colorado Springs. Also surviving are grandmothers, Velda Englin and Irene Wetlesen. Ezekiel will be missed by numerous cousins, aunts and uncles, and by a very special joy in his life, Hayley Neff.

We want to thank the doctors, nurses and technicians at Denver’s Children’s Hospital, the USAFA hospital, Children’s Hematology Oncology Associates, and Odyssey Health Care who provided excellent and loving care for Ezekiel. We also thank all the friends at ECA, Forestgate Presbyterian, the Aero Department at USAFA and NAVSYS.

Ezekiel Peter Wetlesen had the life goals of pursuing a teaching degree in mathematics and teaching in a Christian school. He was not able to pursue those goals. Therefore, he decided to establish an endowment to encourage and retain excellent teachers of effective Christian witness to teach in Christian schools. Ezekiel’s desire is that proceeds from the endowment provide stipends to award winners to augment their salary for the next year of teaching. The Ezekiel Award will encourage these teachers and enable them to continue teaching in Christian schools with reduced financial concerns.

In lieu of flowers, 501(c)3 donations may be made to:

The Ezekiel Award
c/o Leonard/ECA Foundation
4045 Nonchalant Circle South
Bohall Bldg, Lower Level
Colorado Springs, CO 80917

A memorial service, followed by a reception, will be held at 2:30 pm on Saturday, August 18, 2007, at Village Seven Presbyterian Church, 4055 Nonchalant Circle South, Colorado Springs, CO 80917.

2007-08-15T08:07:00.001-06:00

My problems seem so trivial sometimes. Compared with a young person in Rwanda, who lives without running water or other luxuries that we enjoy; compared with a young woman in Iraq who lives in and is used to daily violence, what are my sufferings?

...Compared to nine wonderful kids who just lost their brother who was only 19...

It is with great joy and yet deep sorrow that I announce that the young man we had been praying for for over two years, the young man with a brain tumor, named Ezekiel Wetlesen, died last night. It is a joyful moment because he now has a new body, one without cancer, one in which he can joyfully praise the Lord. With deep sorrow because we will all miss him.

I have to admit that I really admired Zeke even before I knew he had cancer. When he and his family first started coming to our old church, he stood head and shoulders above almost everyone else, yet he didn't really stand out. If anything, his humility was always obvious. (Perhaps that's because he slouched most of the time, fearing to be conspicuous because of his height.)

I have to admit that I thought he was pretty good looking. He loved little kids, too - especially his little brother, Othniel. For one so outgoing as myself, though, I never got up the courage to say more than maybe five words to him at a time...there were maybe a total of five times when I did so, too. He was very shy.

We are going to miss him, and I barely knew him. I know his family would appreciate your prayer right now.

2007-08-13T22:31:00.000-06:00

Before you begin reading this post, realize that it is from a year and three months ago. But perhaps it applies today. I don't know. I just wanted to revive it and see what y'all thought...

Broken Trust

Have you ever known someone who you really liked and wanted to be around with who told you something you later found out wasn't true? What if that "something" didn't need to be told, yet when you found out, you were happy it was true? What if that "something" that you were so happy about yet didn't need to be told was not true?

Speaking about a hypothetical situation, suppose there is a girl (sorry, I write from the perspective of girls because I don't know much about guys) that longs to be loved. Guess that goes without saying...but suppose this girl thinks this one guy is really cool because he pays attention to her. All girls like the attention of guys, speaking as a general rule.

So, say this girl kind of likes the guy, and then he tells her he is interested in her as a girlfriend. There are some other situations surrounding the statement, but it's a really cool thing, right? Suppose this girl, although she didn't think he liked her as anything but a friend, is flattered by this statement. Suppose this girl has never had a guy like her before that told her.

This girl may be in a precarious position because she now holds this guy's heart in her hand. But she's honored, in a way, to find that he's interested in her. Here comes the interesting part...now suppose this guy, who she's starting to see in a different light because he likes her and she thinks she really likes him, tells her he wasn't telling the truth.

One.........

word........

OUCH!!!!!

Does that not sound painful? And the worse part to this hypothetical situation (as if it weren't bad enough already) is that this guy has parents and siblings that know she liked him. Now they feel ackward around her, and she feels like she's betrayed them, given them the wrong impression because she did fall for him in a way, but she knows she was wrong.

She feels dirty, tainted. She didn't make plans for their marriage or do anything wrong physically, but she did allow herself to go emotionally farther than she should have, and she regrets it. She didn't do anything morally wrong, but she feels unfaithful to her future husband. She feels as if she's been forced to do something she was consciously avoiding just because of a few careless words.

The funny thing is, now she doesn't feel she can trust this guy because he lied to her once...who's to say everything else he said wasn't a lie? Let's say (to make matters EVEN worse) that this girl trusted this guy and told him some things that she hadn't really planned to. Now she feels dirty even more. She wanted to share this only with a true boyfriend. She knows she was confused, but she feels bad for what she did.

When presenting this hypothetical situation to my best friend, she said that the girl needed to know that the guy wasn't who God had in mind for her. She needed to know what she was looking for in a guy. This girl needed this experience in order to learn more about life, guys, herself, her future, and God.

My heart aches with the thought that there really are girls out there that feel this way. They might not have God in their lives, and they don't know what they're missing. They just know that "something" is not right. Even Christian girls feel this way--at least one girl I know does.v

2007-08-13T19:23:00.000-06:00

Well, hmm...

Hmm....

Um...hi? Hi! I'm in a VERY strange mood right now. Sorry, all. I DID promise to update every now and then, though, so here goes...

Mom and Dad left this evening. They are celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary this Wednesday and went up to a beautiful area to celebrate. (Oh, by the way, if any of you have any boyfriends/girlfriends, I'd highly recommend doing some group hiking for a date. It's unique, different (okay, that was redundant), and lots of fun.) Back on track...

That means I get to babysit my four lovely siblings for three days. Can you all say "oy vey"? Yeah... So we're planning (well, hoping) to go ice skating tomorrow and go to the May Natural History Museum (pretty cool...), we're also hoping to watch a movie, eat Ramen, and do other weird stuff. So that'll be fun.

I get to close Friday and Saturday night again. That'll be interesting. At least I was able to stay awake during the sermon last Sunday (well, yesterday...)--we'll see how things go this next weekend. I had a good time (amazingly enough) closing Friday and Saturday evenings for several reasons.

1) I got to do back cash, which is the place where you as a customer place your order and then give me the money when you're going through the drive-through. Though I made some mistakes, I also had a lot of fun, and one person even remarked on my being so cheerful for so late at night (I think it was like 11:30 or something). That was cool. :)
2) I was able to close with some very cool people - namely, my shift manager, Tressa, and another friend named Kyle. It's been interesting to get to know both of them. Perhaps I will be able to have an impact in these people's lives. They are all so special.

So I feel like crying...I don't want to make the rest of you feel like doing so, so I shall be done with this post. I hope you all, wherever you are, are feeling far from crying. Just a reminder: our God is so great, and His strength is made totally perfect in our weaknesses. So whether you are happy, whether you are sad, whether you're relaxed, or whether you're feeling like the world just crashed and you barely managed to get out of the way (or maybe you feel like you didn't...), I ask God's blessings on you as you read this.

2007-08-10T18:22:00.001-06:00

Wow, it seems like I’ve really left y’all in the dark recently. What’s that about getting back into blogging faithfully? Hah! Yeah, well... I’m sorry!

So this week has been pretty different. I didn’t work at all during most of the week, and even then, I was going to be working different hours (8 pm to close) on Friday and Saturday. (Pardon my strange manner of writing—you shall find, in just a minute, just why I’m so dingy.) However, yesterday at lunchtime, we went to work out and then grabbed some sandwiches from Wendy’s. That was a mistake...

Let’s just say that my oh-so-persuasive (oh, and let’s not forget REALLY nice) manager told me that they were having everyone possible working that hadn’t started school yet (they didn’t know that I hadn’t started yet), were using managers for sandwiches *gasp*, and even had brought in people from another Wendy’s store so that they could survive the rush hours. Being the one that always loves to help (Tami, I can sooooo relate to you now in jumping into projects, although I guess I could before—this post just emphasizes it. :-P), I said I could work from 6 pm until whenever... So I ended up closing, which put me getting home and in bed at 2 this morning. Ugh.

So I am very tired (and am finding a pattern of starting all my sentences with “so...”), and I get to do this tonight and tomorrow night. RUUUUUUNNNNNN!!! It’s going to be interesting. If I can’t survive being a nurse and doing those midnight shifts, this may be the time to tell. Maybe I’ll go into something sane...like teaching!

Oh, and I’m talking solely about myself. And everything sounds weird. Aaagh! (Just getting up from a “nap” makes things weird, too.)

I hope your week has been much better! Is everybody started or looking forward to starting school? Being the sick child that I am, I’m so excited about starting. It’s going to be pretty weird doing classes at CTU, but the kids there seem pretty nice already.

Signing off before I get QWERTYUIOPitis, (and if you don’t know how you get that, it’s by falling asleep on the keyboard...)

~Allegra

2007-08-01T08:50:00.000-06:00

Silent...

...that's what I've been lately. Sorry, all. Weekly updates may be the best that I can do, especially since classes at CTU start up on the 20th (eek! I can't believe it's August already! Where did July go???), and our speech and debate club begins meeting on September 3rd, I think.

First I shall begin with totally random pieces of news from our family:

1) Lydia and Esther decided to move our room around yesterday. I have now been moved from the really nice room where I was sleeping upstairs (the bed upstairs was much better for my back than the one I had originally been sleeping on) to the deep dark dungeon. Mom mentioned something about me being REALLY susceptible to peer pressure...but they wanted me to be downstairs!

2) Dad's work is crazy. He now knows everything, though he has only been working there a few months. He says that is rather scary, especially since everyone comes to him for answers to their questions. He's not so much a newbie any more, I guess...

3) For those of you who don't know (and maybe I already posted about this), we are going to have another baby. No, we don't know if it's a boy or girl - we like to be surprised (I guess...though it does make picking out clothes and stuff rather difficult). It's due on January 15th. Woot!

4) I work this week. *gasp* I know... My schedule, if you care at all, is as follows: Wednesday, 2-7 pm
Thursday, 1-7 pm
Friday, 3-7 pm
Saturday, 2-7 pm

5) Lydia is celebrating her Sweet Sixteen birthday this weekend! We're going to have a girly sleepover...ruuuuuuunnnnnn!!!!

And if you're falling asleep, here's something interesting:

1. Only in America......can a pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance.

2. Only in America......are there handicap parking places in front of a skating rink.

3. Only in America......do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.

4. Only in America......do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries, and a diet coke.

5. Only in America......do banks leave both doors open and then chain the pens to the counters.

6. Only in America......do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage.

7. Only in America......do we use answering machines to screen calls and then have call waiting so we won't miss a call from someone we didn't want to talk to in the first place.

8. Only in America......do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight.

9. Only in America......do we use the word 'politics' to describe the process so well: 'Poli' in Latin meaning 'many' and 'tics' meaning 'bloodsucking creatures'.

10. Only in America......do they have drive-up ATM's with Braille lettering.

Hope you got a good laugh!
God bless,
Allegra

2007-07-16T20:37:00.000-06:00

Oh...my...goodness! I'm exhausted. But that's pretty normal of working people, I've been told. Hope everyone else is not feeling too much under the gun!

Today was Monday. Need I say more? We had three people staffing the entire Wendy's restaurant at one point. After hearing what the order at the drive-thru was, I'd quickly pull together a bag with everything the customer needed, throw together any needed sandwich, and then rush back to the window and pretend like I had nothing better to do than serve them. Fun...so yeah, it was crazy. Supper time was nuts, too--I worked 1/2 hour later than I was supposed to because orders were coming through non-stop with no one else to put together these sandwiches except myself. AAAAAAAAAGH!

Now that I'm done whining...okay, well, not quite. My back still hurts. After great encouragement from my sister and another friend (thanks, you two-I'm really dreading tomorrow :P), I'm going in to the chiropracter's tomorrow at noon to get my back cracked. Oh, joy.

So my work schedule this week is as follows:
Monday: 2-7pm Tuesday: 2-7pm Wednesday: 1-7pm Thursday: 11:30-1:30pm Friday: 2-7pm

Come in and see me - preferably during my break or right before I get off. I'd love to see a friendly face!!!

Now that I've finished whining - really - what has your week been like so far?

2007-07-13T11:33:00.001-06:00

I miss my family and have decided two things:

1) I don't want to live alone. In college, if I leave home, I want to room with someone else.

2) I want lots of kids, if for no better reason than to keep things busy. Crazy reason, I know, but...

In other news...I saw a fascinating ad for Windows Vista in the Wall Street Journal from yesterday. It says, "Love. With no strings attached." Wow. What a message. That's really going to make me want to buy Vista (of course, I'm already biased against it, but gee!).

It does bring up an interesting question, though. Is there such a thing as love with no strings attached? What IS love with no strings attached? Is "love" defined as having sex with someone and not worrying about conceiving a child? (Pardon my bluntness, but I have a feeling that this is how "love" is defined today...) What are your thoughts on love with no strings attached?

2007-07-10T08:26:00.000-06:00

*chants* Update! Update! Update! Upda--Well, things have been quiet long enough... I think all amateur bloggers (a.k.a. People Who Have A Life) take a break during the summer, which is really a good idea. I'm not saying that *cough* sick *cough* people who happen to update on a regular basis are evil or anything, but... :P

Well, okay. Now that my introductory paragraph is satisfactorily demeaning to everyone faithful to their blogs, I can begin the rest of my rant/update. :D This is so much fun...

(I guess I'm in what one of my friends would call a "punchy" mood...sorry...)

Let's start with Sunday. A very good place to start. I taught Sunday School (namely the Springsters, the 3-6-year olds) and then was tired. Hmmm. Okay, that was interesting as far as updates go...

Monday (yesterday), I got my license!!!!!!!!! I cannot tell you how good it feels to finally be done with all the classroom work and have the freedom that I needed to drive myself to work. Wow...

Last Saturday, Dad and I spent about three or four hours doing "emergency driving" practice - basically, we set out eight "cones" (really black plastic planters) fifty feet apart in a straight line down an abandoned road. I tried to go swerving between them all in an "s" pattern. I was impressed with how easy it was...THEN, Dad told me to actually drive around them! Even then, although it was slightly challenging, it was nothing too difficult. THEN, Dad told me to go faster than 5 mph. Drat... So long story short, I got up to 25 mph without knocking anything over. That was pretty cool!

Emergency braking techniques were easier (stop in 30 feet), but having Dad yell at me to stop in that distance at totally random times was a little more difficult. Finally, the last exercise we tried, was having me stop and swerve into the other "lane" in 40 feet. I almost managed to spin the Camaro...THAT was pretty fun! (Although, as a girl, perhaps I shouldn't enjoy the reckless "danger" like I did...)

So yeah. I have my license and better know what my car can do now. Pretty nice.

Tomorrow, almost everyone leaves for Denver. Lydia is already in Montana, so that leaves me and Dad at home. It's going to be rather quiet, I think... Supper? What's that? :P Just kidding - that's already my job, so Dad knows who is at fault if it doesn't exist. Of course, we could always get Wendy's. Now I hope Mom doesn't read this post and stop my evil plans from taking place. :D

However, tomorrow, I also go to Cheyenne Mountain (a.k.a. "NORAD-US NORTHCOM") for a tour. Woot! Although I'd enjoy going up to Denver and seeing friends (okay, I'd REALLY enjoy it...), this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Isn't it amazing how God sees fit to bless us? I've already listed the privilege of teaching little kids about their Heavenly Father and the stories He wrote and directed, the privilege of having my own license and the exciting experience before even getting it, and NOW getting rid of the rest of my family! Wait...I mean...going to NORAD... Really! :D

Another blessing, for those of you who don't know, is the fact that we are going to have another baby in the family, come January! I think Mom is doing better (although she's rather dreading this long weekend, Wednesday through Saturday, so please pray for her), and she's looking beautiful as always - maybe even more so than usual.

Back to my update for the rest of the week...

I work on Thursday from 3-7 or 2-7 (guess I should check, huh?), and then go over to our club's first meeting. Cool! Then, on Friday, I work again (this time I'm pretty sure - it's 2-7 because they need extra help on Fridays). There are another two blessings - a new club, which we get to be the "founding members" of, and a pretty good job, with lots of chances for witnessing.

Hope all your summers are going well!!!

2007-06-27T10:28:00.000-06:00

Well, I suppose it's time for an update (and this time it's not about Monty Python :P). My great-aunt forwards us stuff all the time, and I thought you might enjoy going to this website, called My Beautiful America, as the 4th of July and the 231st anniversary (please correct me if my math is wrong) of the Declaration of Independence is just around the corner.

2007-06-15T12:00:00.000-06:00

I got a kick out of this movie called "Monty Python Argument Sketch" that my friend recommended.Perhaps "Monty Python" isn't that bad...

2007-06-14T10:34:00.000-06:00

Well, I've been working on my term paper, and I think it's about done. *does happy dance* If you could critique it (provided you have the time...), that would be so wonderful. You don't have to critique, but you're welcome to read it...if you can stay awake. :)

*~*~*~*

The Nursing Shortage Crisis in the United States

Allegra

Term Paper Class

14 June 2007

Think of the word “dominos”. The word conjures up either thoughts of ready-made pizza or images of those black tiles that little kids (and, perhaps more often, adults) stand on end in fascinating designs and then push over. Let’s examine for just a minute what happens in the activity with the small black tiles. First, the dominos are set up in the design that is most desirable to the builder and then pushed over, causing one of the dominos to crash into the next, causing all the tiles in the design to collapse.

Now, I’m not going to explain to you why ready-made pizza is so convenient or how dominos are created, but let’s draw some parallels here: Imagine that the healthcare system in the United States is like a design of dominos. Now, it’s true that the system was not set up to collapse, but when it does, the effect is the same. The number of qualified nurses has been pushed over by the concern for reducing costs in the healthcare system, leading to the over-working of remaining nurses, and forcing them to provide a lower quality of care to a higher number of people.

Before we get into the statistics and issues surrounding the nursing shortage in the United States, let’s first take a brief look at the history of nursing. Nursing has not always had a good reputation. Although Florence Nightingale was a pioneer in the nursing field and did excellent work for the British during the Crimean War in 1855, the profession was looked upon with suspicion and thought unsuitable for young ladies before and during the 1930s for four reasons. It was considered “demeaning physical labor for a young woman”, it required “‘unwholesome’ mingling of the sexes”, it meant treating people with diseases one would rather not talk about (such as STDs), and it meant a lot of exhausting training (Monahan & Niedel-Greenlee, 2003). Despite the difficult work involved in nursing, as well as the negative attitudes toward it by the majority of Americans, by the end of World War II, 59,000 nurses had volunteered to join and serve in the military (Monahan & Niedel-Greenlee, 2003). This resulted in the expansion and improved reputation of the nursing profession. Because nursing became a more honorable profession, it was added to the list of career choices for girls. Young ladies born before 1950, mainly during the Baby Boom, were given three career choices after graduating from high school: teaching, secretarial work (or, in the case of African-Americans even in 1975, social work), or nursing (Monahan & Niedel-Greenlee, 2003; Balfour, 2005). After nursing made it on the list of acceptable jobs for girls, many took up the profession.

Nursing became a popular profession during and after World War II, but its popularity began to decline. In 1992, the number of hospitals was reduced; the remaining hospitals hired fewer and fewer newly graduated nurses, preferring nurses with more experience. Today there are 126,000 vacancies for nurses in hospitals and long-term-care facilities around the United States. To put that into perspective, that’s the size of a small city (Satterly, 2004)!

Not only are there so many vacancies right now, but by the year 2020, it is projected that 400,000 more nurses will be needed than are available (Satterly, 2004). That is the amount of about four small cities.

Many nurses are missing, and that problem will only grow in the future, so we need to see WHY this is happening in the United States. The first reason for the nursing shortage today is not self-solving, as we might want it to be. It is the result of social changes in the latter part of the 20th century, which allowed girls to have more career choices, most of which were previously only available to men. This is both fortunate and unfortunate.

The fact that girls have more career choices today is fortunate because it means that they have an opportunity to do many things. They can become specialists in whatever fields interest them. This is nice because it means they can use their God-given skills in ways that their mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers never even thought of. The opening of the career world to girls is also unfortunate because 95% of nurses are women, and the nursing profession has lost many potential workers to other jobs (Satterly, 2004). No longer are girls, fresh out of high school, left with only the options of nursing or teaching. Now they have the opportunity to become CEOs of major corporations, join the military, or other "exciting" things that only men used to be able to do.

Because girls have more opportunities, there will not be enough experienced replacements for the nurses who will be retiring shortly (Satterly, 2004). The older generation is what is keeping the nursing shortage from skyrocketing. In fact, in 2000, only 9 percent of the registered nurses were younger than 30, which is a significant decrease from the 25 percent in 1980 (Satterly, 2004). This doesn’t seem that bad until you realize two things: as said before, a majority of current nurses will be retiring shortly, and secondly, hospitals lose valuable help in acute-care facilities because older nurses are less willing to work in those areas than younger ones (Satterly, 2004).

We see that the nursing shortage is caused by new career opportunities for women, but there’s also another cause of the shortage, which starts with the desire to reduce costs in the healthcare system. As discussed previously, the number of hospitals across the country is declining. The ones that still exist are encouraging the nursing shortage by getting rid of current qualified nurses and also by hiring less-expensive (and less-trained) technicians and aides to do the small jobs previously done by nurses.

Not only are current hospitals not hiring inexperienced nurses, they are getting rid of current working qualified nurses, both passively and actively. Passively, hospitals are reducing the number of nurses by not replacing nurses who leave the workforce or retire. This method has been found to be too slow for some hospitals, so they have initiated the second, more aggressive method, of cutting the number of nursing staff, causing many qualified nurses to lose their jobs (Catalano, 1996).

Although hospitals are getting rid of a lot of their qualified nurses, they still need employees who will tend to patients’ needs, such as bathing, dressing, feeding, and taking the patients to the bathroom. Qualified nurses have valuable knowledge and experience (Satterly, 2004), but are expensive to employ, so hospitals have the bare minimum of nurses and then fill in the rest of the staff with aides and technicians. While there is nothing inherently wrong with these aides and technicians, they have much less experience and cannot provide as high a quality of care to patients as qualified nurses can. When examining how much money is saved by enlisting technicians and aides to do nurse’s work, the question has to be asked if it’s worth losing the higher quality of care that qualified nurses provide (Catalano, 1996).

This issue of a quality of care leads us to the third and final point about the nursing shortage: the consequences of this shortage that hospitals and social changes have encouraged. What are these consequences to both nurses and their patients? Qualified nurses that have not retired yet or lost their jobs have greater workloads because they are fewer in number yet just as important. Patients see the consequences of the shortage when the quality of care they are getting decreases.

The few qualified nurses left in hospitals today feel the impact of the nursing shortage on a regular basis. There are fewer nurses to meet the needs of a demanding healthcare system, which means that the remaining nurses have to deal with the normal headache of working with medical technology, charts, etc. in addition to attempting to care for as many patients as possible in a very short period of time. As Faye Satterly, R.N. (2004) put it, “...with the shorter lengths of stay, nursing units had become like revolving doors. A nursing unit might start a shift with a census of twenty-three patients and end with the same number, but twelve of the names could be different.” It’s easy to understand how dealing with charts and technology could be a headache, but why is the fact that nursing units have become like revolving doors such a problem? When twelve names change in a nursing unit, it means that a nurse has to get to know twelve new people. It is crucial that the nurse get to “know” her patients so that she can know how to care for them. Otherwise, it’s like babysitting a child and not even knowing his or her name. Getting to “know” a patient is crucial to providing a high quality of care to him, but it also takes time. However, because of the shortage of nurses, they are in high demand and moved from unit to unit, despite their competence or education in a particular field (Weinberg, 2003). Moving from unit to unit, in addition to the problem of patients’ short stays, means that a nurse may spend all her time getting to “know” the patients without ever being able to do more. This seriously diminishes the quality of care that nurses can actually give to their patients.

Nurses realize that they are giving poorer care to their patients than they used to, but there’s not much they can do about it. The hospitals are concerned about saving money by cranking patients through, and the hospitals are the ones who tell the nurses what to do. Dana Weinberg (2003) quoted a nurse, who in June of 1999, stood up and said,

“I used to believe that this hospital took excellent care of every patient, and I don’t feel like that any more.... I think that it’s done with the primary focus on being expedient and cost-effective and [getting] patients in and out as quickly as you can because every minute they’re here it costs the hospital money to care for them, one way or another.”

Nurses want to provide a higher quality of care to their patients, but they have to prioritize by what issues are most important (Weinberg, 2003) because the patient might be discharged before the nurse is able to help the patient with the big issues.

Not only is moving from unit to unit difficult for the nurses because it means more work in trying to get to “know” their patients, but it can also be disconcerting when they work in a unit where they have no expertise. Despite their education, skills and experience, nurses will be moved to whatever unit needs more hands. This saves money for hospitals that have to pay the nurses, but it means less rest for the nurses, and more importantly, less skill in certain units they may be working (Weinberg, 2003).

The nursing shortage also has an impact on the patients, as briefly shown with the concern nurses have for not providing high enough care for their patients. We also touched on this side of things when talking about technicians and aides who do not have the training and/or experience that qualified nurses do. However, let us shift views and look more into exactly what impact the nursing shortage has on the quality of care given to patients.

First, nurses have a large part to play in assuring that patients come out of surgical procedures alive. This is evidenced by the fact that when there is a shortage of nurses and the remaining ones have to care for too many patients, the possibility of death following one of these procedures rises 7 percent for each patient (Satterly, 2004)! So the first impact of this shortage to us as patients is the fact that our risk of living after a surgical procedure decreases by 7 percent. That’s a rather grim statistic, but it shows just how important nurses are. Second, fewer nurses increase the risk of mistakes made by the remaining ones and the technicians and/or aides. When nurses get to “know” you as a patient, it is because they need to know how to treat you, what you want done, how you act, etc. You are under their wings, so to speak, and they want to give you the best care that they can Unfortunately, when there are fewer nurses in a hospital, the remaining ones do not have much time to devote to getting to know you, which can result in making mistakes such as not knowing what medicines you are supposed to be taking, how to read your charts, etc. This problem can also happen when technicians and aides take care of you—there’s just a higher risk for mistakes due to all the busyness of nurses and the inexperience of technicians and aides.

The third problem with the nursing shortage is that nurses just don’t have the time to devote much personal attention to you. They try to find out if you’re allergic to certain medications, how you react to other medications, how to chart your statistics, find out what statistics are “normal” for you, etc., but they have many other patients to care for as well. The result is that you feel like you’re in a factory where healthy (or dead!) people are supposed to be produced. This is a feeling that is not exactly conducive to quick healing.

A final and less serious problem due to the nursing shortage is the rotating of the remaining nurses. When nurses are being rotated from unit to unit, you as a patient may get a new nurse every day, maybe every hour or so! The result is not only that you feel like you’re in an unstable environment, but each time you have a new nurse, the potential for them to make mistakes because they are not familiar with what “normal” is for you continues to exist. When you are sick and hurting, what you really want is to see the same face every time, a reminder that some parts of life are stable. A new nurse every few hours does not help your peace of mind (even if some are nicer and friendlier than others).

In summary, nursing had a rough beginning but began to be popular during World War II. You’d think that because it was popular back then that it would be today; unfortunately, due to new jobs for girls and the desire to cut costs in hospitals, nursing has actually begun to see a shortage crisis. Ever seen four empty cities? This is what the shortage could look like by the year 2020.

This nursing shortage would not be so much of a problem if it wasn’t for the fact that the quality of the work the remaining nurses provides is lowered. People are more likely to die after surgery or have some mistake made in how they are treated because of fewer nurses. Less urgent but still important is the fact that they have less stability in their surroundings.

The nursing shortage crisis is not going away. In fact, it is getting bigger, and it is causing lots of problems to patients and nurses. There is a problem in this system, and it needs to be fixed. -- References Balfour, Sandy (2005). Nursing America: One Year Behind the Nursing Stations of an Inner-City Hospital. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin Catalano, Joseph T. (1996). Contemporary Professional Nursing. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Company Damp, Dennis V. (2006). Health Care: Job Explosion! High Growth Health Care Careers and Job Locater. Moon Township, PA: Bookhaven Press LLC. Monahan, Evelyn M. and Niedel-Greenlee, Rosemary (2003). And if I Perish: Frontline U.S. Army Nurses in World War II. New York: Alfred A. Knopf , Publisher Satterly, Faye, R.N. (2004). Where Have All The Nurses Gone? The Impact of the Nursing Shortage on American Healthcare. New York: Prometheus Books Weinberg, Dana Beth; forward by Gordon, Suzanne (2003). Code Green: Money-Driven Hospitals and the Dismantling of Nursing. New York: Cornell University Press

2007-06-12T09:40:00.000-06:00

Hear ye! Hear ye! There is a spiffy-looking dance happening next month! If you're interested in going, let me know, and I'll get you in touch with the appropriate people. It looks like a lot of fun, and I'm seeing if we'll be allowed to go.

--

If you competed in the NCFCA in the 2006-2007 season, you and your family are invited to a Formal Dance to keep the community connected over the summer, say goodbye to our seniors and just have a great time. Please share this with anyone you know who competed during the previous season.

Details

Date: Saturday, July 21, 2007, from 1-5pm

Location: Crusader Hall at Redeemer Lutheran Church, located at 2215 Wahsatch Avenue, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80907 (where the social was on Wednesday night for Gold)

Attire: Formal attire is encouraged

RSVP: By July 7, 2007 with the number of people in attendance from your family. Each competitor can suggest two songs to be played during the dance. The final play list will be decided upon by the host family, but this will help us know what will please the crowd.

Other information: If you are not fond of dancing, come for the fun and fellowship. Each family is asked to bring a snack to share or $3 per person. Drinks will be provided.

2007-06-06T07:16:00.000-06:00

The Dare 2 Dig Deeper Apologetics Conference will be in Colorado Springs at Focus on the Family's campus August 10-11, 2007. It was so much fun the last time we went (I believe in 2003 or 2004...), and I'd encourage anyone who can to go too. Not only is it fun, but the workshops are great and will help you be able to defend your faith.

If you want to sign up early, I found this website: http://www.ses.edu/conference/. However, we could also try for a group discount. Let me know if you're interested, and I'll see what I can do.

God bless! Edit: Here's the link to their site with more information. http://go.family.org/dare2digdeeper/about.cfm

2007-06-04T06:46:00.000-06:00

I thought this was cute! For all you old people out there, ya ought to try this! :P Okay, well, maybe not...but I want to be this way when I get old. :)

This is a true account as recorded in the Police Log of Sarasota, Florida...

An elderly Florida lady did her shopping and, upon returning to her car, found four males in the act of leaving with her vehicle.

She dropped her shopping bags and drew her handgun, proceeding to scream at the top of her voice, "I have a gun, and I know how to use it! Get out of the car!"

The four men didn't wait for a second invitation. They got out and ran like mad.

The lady, somewhat shaken, then proceeded to load her shopping bags into the back of the car and got into the driver's seat.

She was so shaken that she could not get her key into the ignition. She tried and tried, and then it dawned on her why...............................

For the same reason she did not understand why there was a football, a Frisbee and two 12 packs of beer in the front seat!

A few minutes later, she found her own car parked four or five spaces farther down. She loaded her bags into the car and drove to the police station to report her mistake.

The sergeant to whom she told the story couldn't stop laughing.

He pointed to the other end of the counter, where four pale men were reporting a car jacking by a mad, elderly woman described as white, less than five feet tall, glasses, curly white hair, and carrying a large handgun.

No charges were filed.

If you're going to have a Senior Moment, make it a memorable one!!!!!

2007-05-15T06:40:00.000-06:00

Here's the article that I love so much about the French giving themselves a low rating:

Takes one to know one

Think Americans are the only ones with a low view of the French? According to new poll figures, even the French public has surrendered to self-loathing. A survey conducted by the International Herald Tribune found a whopping 44 percent of French people took a negative view of their fellow countrymen, outstripping even the United States' negative view of France. Among Britons, 33 percent held a negative view of the French whereas only 29 percent of Spaniards and 14 percent of Germans did.

Oh...and if we didn't already think the French were lazy enough? Check out the latest quote:

"Why not a nap at work? It can't be a taboo subject."

French Health Minister Xavier Bertrand on plans to promote on-the-job napping in France. The country already has a 35-hour work week and liberal vacation policies, but the ministry says one in three French people isn't sleeping enough.

Perhaps that's why they have such a low esteem of themselves...Guess we'll never know. I would like to note, though, that we probably shouldn't diss the French too much. Pride comes before a fall, doncha know.

2007-05-14T20:07:00.000-06:00

We started discussing/reading this article from Imprimis (put together by Hillsdale College, where I know at least one of you is planning on going) tonight, and I thought all you wonderful people might enjoy reading it as well. It's pretty deep stuff, so feel free to take a breath every now and then. :) A quick personal backgrounder: my grandmother was growing up during the time FDR was president, and she remembers her father ranting and raving about how awful FDR's concepts were...he was darn right, too! If you don't like reading it on here for any reason, feel free to go straight to the source: http://www.hillsdale.edu/imprimis/2007/03/.

March 2007

“Roosevelt’s or Reagan’s America? A Time for Choosing”

John Marini University of Nevada, Reno

John Marini a professor of political science at the University of Nevada, Reno, is a graduate of San Jose State University and earned his Ph.D. in government at the Claremont Graduate School. He has also taught at Agnes Scott College, Ohio University and the University of Dallas. He is on the board of directors of the Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy and a member of the Nevada Advisory Committee of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. Dr. Marini is the author or co-author of several books, including The Progressive Revolution in Politics and Political Science; The Politics of Budget Control: Congress, the Presidency, and the Growth of the Administrative State; and The Founders on Citizenship and Immigration.

The following is adapted from a speech delivered at Hillsdale College on January 29, 2007, during a seminar on the topic, “America’s Entitlement Society,” co-sponsored by the Center for Constructive Alternatives and the Ludwig von Mises Lecture Series.

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On January 11, 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent the text of his Annual Message to Congress. Under normal conditions, he would have delivered the message in person that evening at the Capitol. But he was recovering from the flu, and his doctor advised him not to leave the White House. So he delivered it as a fireside chat to the American people. It has been called the greatest speech of the century by Cass Sunstein, a prominent liberal law professor at the University of Chicago. It is an important speech because it is probably the most far-reaching attempt by an American president to legitimize the administrative or welfare state, based on the idea that government must guarantee social and economic security for all.

Thirty-seven years later, in his First Inaugural Address on January 20, 1981, President Ronald Reagan would deny that government could provide such a broad guarantee of security in a manner consistent with the protection of American liberty. Indeed, he would insist that bureaucratic government had become a danger to the survival of our freedom. In looking at the differences between the views of Roosevelt and Reagan, we can discern the distinction between a constitutional regime—in which the power of government is limited so as to enable the people to rule—and an administrative state, which presupposes the rule of a bureaucratic or intellectual elite.

FDR’s New Bill of Rights

When Roosevelt spoke to the nation that January night, he was looking beyond the end of World War II. In recent years, he said,

Americans have joined with like-minded people in order to defend ourselves in a world that has been gravely threatened with gangster rule. But I do not think that any of us Americans can be content with mere survival. Sacrifices that we and our Allies are making impose upon us all a sacred obligation to see to it that out of this war we and our children will gain something better than mere survival.

And what was this “sacred obligation?” Roosevelt continued:

The one supreme objective for the future, which we discussed for each nation individually, and for all the United Nations, can be summed up in one word: Security. And that means not only physical security which provides safety from attacks by aggressors. It means also economic security, social security, moral security—in a family of Nations.

Government has a sacred duty, in other words, to provide security as a fundamental human right.

Roosevelt was well aware that this was a departure from the traditional understanding of the role of American government:

This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its present strength, under the protection of certain inalienable political rights—among them the right of free speech, free press, free worship, trial by jury, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. They were our rights to life and liberty. As our Nation has grown in size and stature, however—as our industrial economy expanded—these political rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness. We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. “Necessitous men are not free men.” People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made. In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all…

Among these new rights, Roosevelt said, are “The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries, or shops or farms or mines of the Nation; The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation; The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living; The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad; The right of every family to a decent home; The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health; The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment; The right to a good education.”

The Constitution had established a limited government which presupposed an autonomous civil society and a free economy. But such freedom had led inevitably to social inequality, which in Roosevelt’s view had made Americans insecure in a way that was unacceptable. He had lost faith in the older constitutional principle of limited government. Rather, he thought that the protection of political rights—or of social and economic liberty, exercised by individuals unregulated by government—had made it impossible to establish a foundation for social justice, i.e., what he called “equality in the pursuit of happiness.” He assumed that a fundamental tension exists between equality and liberty that can only be resolved by a powerful, even unlimited, administrative or welfare state.

Rejecting the Founders

The American founders, by contrast, thought that equality and liberty were perfectly compatible—indeed, that they were opposite sides of the same coin. The principle of natural equality had been set forth in the Declaration of Independence, which clearly spelled out the way in which all human beings are the same: They are equally endowed with natural and inalienable rights. But along with this similarity, the Founders knew that differences are sown into human nature: some people are smarter, some are stronger, some are more beautiful, some are musically inclined while others have a predilection for business, etc. Political equality, which requires the protection of individual rights, produces social inequality (or unequal achievement) precisely because of these unequal natural faculties. The preservation of freedom, therefore, in the Founders’ view, requires a defense of private property, understood in terms of the protection of the individual citizen’s rights of conscience, opinion, self-interest and labor. They thought that a constitutional order, by separating church and state, government and civil society, and the public and private sphere, makes it possible to reconcile equality and liberty in a reasonable way that is compatible with the nature of man. Thus the Constitution limits the power of government to the protection of natural rights.

Roosevelt and his fellow progressives rejected the idea of natural differences between men, insisting that those differences arise only out of social and economic inequality. As a result, they redefined the idea of freedom, divorcing it from the idea of individual rights and identifying it instead with the idea of security. It was in the cause of this new understanding of freedom that America’s constitutional form of limited government was gradually replaced—beginning with the New Deal and culminating in the late 1960s and 1970s—by an administrative or welfare state.

Roosevelt had made it clear, even before he was elected president, that government had a new and different role to play in American life than that assigned to it by the Constitution. In an October 1932 radio address, he stated: “…I have…described the spirit of my program as a ‘new deal,’ which is plain English for a changed concept of the duty and responsibility of Government toward economic life.” In his view, selfish behavior on the part of individuals and corporations must give way to rational social action informed by a benevolent government and the organized intelligence of the bureaucracy. Consequently, the role of government was no longer the protection of the natural or political rights of individuals. The old constitutional distinction between government and society—or between the public and private spheres—as the ground of liberalism and a bulwark against political tyranny had created, in Roosevelt’s view, economic tyranny. To solve this, government itself would become a tool of benevolence working on behalf of the people.

This redefinition of the role of government carried with it a new understanding of the role of the American people. In Roosevelt’s Commonwealth Club address of 1932, he said:

The Declaration of Independence discusses the problem of government in terms of a contract…Under such a contract, rulers were accorded power, and the people consented to that power on consideration that they be accorded certain rights. The task of statesmanship has always been the redefinition of these rights in terms of a changing and growing social order. New conditions impose new requirements upon government and those who conduct government.

But this idea of a compact between government and the people is contrary to both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Indeed, what links the Declaration and the Constitution is the idea of the people as autonomous and sovereign, and government as the people’s creation and servant. Jefferson, in the Declaration, clearly presented the relationship in this way: “to secure these [inalienable] rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…” Similarly, the Constitution begins by institutionalizing the authority of the people: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

In Roosevelt’s reinterpretation, on the other hand, government determines the conditions of social compact, thereby diminishing not only the authority of the Constitution but undermining the effective sovereignty of the people.

Reagan’s Attempt to Turn the Tide

Ronald Reagan addressed this problem of sovereignty at some length in his First Inaugural, in which he observed famously: “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem.” He was speaking specifically of the deep economic ills that plagued the nation at the time of his election. But he was also speaking about the growing power of a bureaucratic and intellectual elite. This elite, he argued, was undermining the capacity of the people to control what had become, in effect, an unelected government. Thus it was undermining self-government itself.

The perceived failure of the U.S. economy during the Great Depression had provided the occasion for expanding the role of the federal government in administering the private sector. Reagan insisted in 1981 that government had proved itself incapable of solving the problems of the economy or of society. As for the relationship between the people and the government, Reagan did not view it, as Roosevelt had, in terms of the people consenting to the government on the condition that government grant them certain rights. Rather, he insisted:

We are a nation that has a government—not the other way around. And this makes us special among the nations of the Earth. Our government has no power except that granted it by the people. It is time to check and reverse the growth of government, which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed.

In Reagan’s view it was the individual, not government, who was to be credited with producing the things of greatest value in America:

If we look to the answer as to why for so many years we achieved so much, prospered as no other people on Earth, it was because here in this land we unleashed the energy and individual genius of man to a greater extent than has ever been done before. Freedom and the dignity of the individual have been more available and assured here than in any other place on Earth.

And it was the lack of trust in the people which posed the greatest danger to freedom:

…we’ve been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. Well, if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else?

Reagan had been long convinced that the continued growth of the bureaucratic state could lead to the loss of freedom. In his famous 1964 speech, “A Time for Choosing,” delivered on behalf of Barry Goldwater, he had said:

…it doesn’t require expropriation or confiscation of private property or business to impose socialism on a people. What does it mean whether you hold the deed or the title to your business or property if the government holds the power of life and death over that business or property? Such machinery already exists. The government can find some charge to bring against any concern it chooses to prosecute. Every businessman has his own tale of harassment. Somewhere a perversion has taken place. Our natural, inalienable rights are now considered to be a dispensation of government, and freedom has never been so fragile, so close to slipping from our grasp as it is at this moment.

Reagan made it clear that centralized control of the economy and society by the federal government could not be accomplished without undermining individual rights and establishing coercive and despotic control.

…“the full power of centralized government” was the very thing the Founding Fathers sought to minimize. They knew that governments don’t control things. A government can’t control the economy without controlling people. And they knew when a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose. They also knew, those Founding Fathers, that outside of its legitimate functions, government does nothing as well or as economically as the private sector of the economy.

Over the next 15 years, Reagan succeeded in mobilizing a powerful sentiment against the excesses of big government. In doing so, he revived the debate over the importance of limited government for the preservation of a free society. And his theme would remain constant throughout his presidency. In his final State of the Union message, Reagan proclaimed “that the most exciting revolution ever known to humankind began with three simple words: ‘We the People,’ the revolutionary notion that the people grant government its rights, and not the other way around.” And in his Farewell Address to the nation, he said: “Ours was the first revolution in the history of mankind that truly reversed the course of government, and with three little words: ‘We the People.’” He never wavered in his insistence that modern government had become a problem, primarily because it sought to replace the people as central to the American constitutional order.

Like the Founders, Reagan understood human nature to be unchanging—and thus tyranny, like selfishness, to be a problem coeval with human life. Experience had taught the Founders to regard those who govern with the same degree of suspicion as those who are governed—equally subject to selfish or tyrannical opinions, passions, and interests. Consequently, they did not attempt to mandate the good society or social justice by legislation, because they doubted that it was humanly possible to do so. Rather they attempted to create a free society, in which the people themselves could determine the conditions necessary for the good life. By establishing a constitutional government of limited power, they placed their trust in the people.

Up or Down, Not Right or Left

The political debate in America today is often portrayed as being between progressives (or the political left) and reactionaries (or the political right), the former working for change on behalf of a glorious future and the latter resisting that change. Reagan denied these labels because they are based on the idea that human nature can be transformed such that government can bring about a perfect society. In his 1964 speech, he noted:

You and I are told increasingly that we have to choose between a left or right. Well I would like to suggest that there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only an up or down—up to man’s age-old dream, the ultimate in individual freedom consistent with law and order, or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism. And regardless of their sincerity, their humanitarian motives, those who would trade our freedom for security have embarked on this downward course.

In light of the differences between the ideas and policies of Roosevelt and Reagan, it is not surprising that political debates today are so bitter. Indeed, they resemble the religious quarrels that once convulsed western society. The progressive defenders of the bureaucratic state see government as the source of benevolence, the moral embodiment of the collective desire to bring about social justice as a practical reality. They believe that only mean-spirited reactionaries can object to a government whose purpose is to bring about this good end. Defenders of the older constitutionalism, meanwhile, see the bureaucratic state as increasingly tyrannical and destructive of inalienable rights.

Ironically, the American regime was the first to solve the problem of religion in politics. Religion, too, had sought to establish the just or good society—the city of God—upon earth. But as the Founders knew, this attempt had simply led to various forms of clerical tyranny. Under the American Constitution, individuals would have religious liberty but churches would not have the power to enforce their claims on behalf of the good life. Today, with the replacement of limited government constitutionalism by an administrative state, we see the emergence of a new form of elite, seeking to establish a new form of perfect justice. But as the Founders and Reagan understood, in the absence of angels governing men, or men becoming angels, limited government remains the most reasonable and just form of human government.

2007-05-03T19:48:00.000-06:00

I like THIS Numa Numa music video because of the guys in the background...plus, they look like they're having a lot of fun. :)

2007-05-01T07:32:00.000-06:00

If Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were alive today, their infamous sketch, "Who's on First?" might have turned out something like this:

COSTELLO CALLS TO BUY A COMPUTER FROM ABBOTT

ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?
COSTELLO: Thanks. I'm setting up an office in my den and I'm thinking about buying a computer.
ABBOTT: Mac?
COSTELLO: No, the name's Lou.
ABBOTT: Your computer?
COSTELLO: I don't own a computer. I want to buy one.
ABBOTT: Mac?
COSTELLO: I told you, my name's Lou.
ABBOTT: What about Windows?
COSTELLO: Why? Will it get stuffy in here?
ABBOTT: Do you want a computer with Windows?
COSTELLO: I don't know. What will I see when I look at the windows?
ABBOTT: Wallpaper.
COSTELLO: Never mind the windows. I need a computer and software.
ABBOTT: Software for Windows?
COSTELLO: No. On the computer! I need something I can use to write proposals, track expenses and run my business. What do you have?
ABBOTT: Office.
COSTELLO: Yeah, for my office. Can you recommend anything?
ABBOTT: I just did.
COSTELLO: You just did what?
ABBOTT: Recommend something.
COSTELLO: You recommended something?
ABBOTT: Yes.
COSTELLO: For my office?
ABBOTT: Yes.
COSTELLO: OK, what did you recommend for my office?
ABBOTT: Office.
COSTELLO: Yes, for my office!
ABBOTT: I recommend Office with Windows.
COSTELLO: I already have an office with windows! OK, let's just say I'm sitting at my computer and I want to type a proposal. What do I need?
ABBOTT: Word.
COSTELLO: What word?
ABBOTT: Word in Office.
COSTELLO: The only word in office is office.
ABBOTT: The Word in Office for Windows.
COSTELLO: Which word in office for windows?
ABBOTT: The Word you get when you click the blue "W".
COSTELLO: I'm going to click your blue "w" if you don't start with some straight answers. What about financial bookkeeping? You have anything I can track my money with?
ABBOTT: Money.
COSTELLO: That's right. What do you have?
ABBOTT: Money.
COSTELLO: I need money to track my money?
ABBOTT: It comes bundled with your computer.
COSTELLO: What's bundled with my computer?
ABBOTT: Money.
COSTELLO: Money comes with my computer?
ABBOTT: Yes. No extra charge.
COSTELLO: I get a bundle of money with my computer? How much?
ABBOTT: One copy.
COSTELLO: Isn't it illegal to copy money?
ABBOTT: Microsoft gave us a license to copy Money.
COSTELLO: They can give you a license to copy money?
ABBOTT: Why not? THEY OWN IT!

(A few days later)

ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?
COSTELLO: How do I turn my computer off?
ABBOTT: Click on "START".............

2007-04-23T08:32:00.000-06:00

Well, Regionals is over. It was quite a tournament. I didn't know how we were all going to fit into that church, but it's pretty darn big!

Wednesday we signed in, went to Student Orientation, and then I went to the community service award thing at the hoedown. The winners were debate partners last year. That was kind of ironic.

Thursday we debated and watched speeches. Esther and I went against Ford/Yeates *again* as Aff. We lost. They're good--they both got speaker awards.

Then we debated Berghen/Olson as Neg. We lost again. I'd put it all up to a cranky judge (though I'm not really supposed to be that way), but they did make it pretty far in outrounds, I believe. We had never even heard of or thought of their case...which made evidence (which the judge noticed a lack of on my part) hard to come by.

The third round of the day was really nice. We got a bye--an automatic win and a break. I watched Larson/Malenke "cream" their opponents (I say "cream" b/c the judge thought otherwise. *sigh*). They're incredible.

After that debate, we hung out and watched Danny's DI along with a few others. Our moms kind of missed us...oops...

Friday we debated Groenevelt/Liddiard and were Aff. The judge said it was a hard decision, but we lost. Oh well. I didn't have a problem losing to them.

Then we debated Bryce/Nadeau (who just happened to be staying at our house, and who's younger sister just happens to be a really good friend of mine) and were Neg. Mark and David watched us, and David gave comments. I'm still waiting to hear what Mark thought of it. We won that round. We actually beat the team that got 3rd place at RMC. Weird.

The last round of the day was against Anderson/Dasher, and this time we were Neg. Last time we debated them, we were Aff, and they beat us...but I got first speaker. This time we beat them...and I got first speaker. :)

Everyone was so gracious about winning and about losing. I was honored to be able to go up to the people we had debated and still be friends with them (if not more so than we were before we debated). God was truly good to us. I had an incredible time.

2007-04-06T16:24:00.000-06:00

Here is the decision: the hoedown is too expensive. $12 a person for food and a little dancing that isn't the kind we would want to do anyway?!? So we are going to Old Chicago. Yippee!!! Okay, well, Regionals is coming up...please pray for us. I'm getting a little burnt out right now, and quite honestly, don't want to debate. I'm going to be off the computer for a while (really shouldn't be on here right now...), but just so you know what's going on right now. If you care...

2007-04-04T11:22:00.000-06:00

I don't agree with everything George Carlin has to say, but this was an interesting post that a fellow debater posted on our region's forum.

YES, I'M A BAD AMERICAN

by: George Carlin

I Am Your Worst Nightmare. I am a BAD American. I am George Carlin.

I believe the money I make belongs to me and my family, not some mid level governmental functionary be it Democratic or Republican!

I'm in touch with my feelings and I like it that way!

I think owning a gun doesn't make you a killer, it makes you a smart American.

I think being a minority does not make you noble or victimized, and does not entitle you to anything.

I believe that if you are selling me a Big Mac, do it in English.

I believe everyone has a right to pray to his or her God when and where they want to.

My heroes are John Wayne, Babe Ruth, Roy Rogers, and whoever canceled Jerry Springer.

I don't hate the rich. I don't pity the poor.

I know wrestling is fake and I don't waste my time watching or arguing about it.

I've never owned a slave, or was a slave, I haven't burned any witches or been persecuted by the Turks and neither have you! So, shut up already.

I believe if you don't like the way things are here, go back to where you came from and change your own country! This is AMERICA.

I think the cops have every right to shoot your sorry rear if you're running from them..

I also think they have the right to pull you over if you're breaking the law, regardless of what color you are.

And, no, I don't mind having my face shown on my drivers license. I think it's good..... and I'm proud that "God" is written on my money.

I dislike those people standing in the intersections trying to sell me stuff or trying to guilt me into making "donations" to their cause.

I believe that it doesn't take a village to raise a child, it takes two parents.

And what is going on with gas prices... again?

I believe "illegal" is illegal no matter what the lawyers think.

I believe the American flag should be the only one allowed in AMERICA!

If this makes me a BAD American, then yes, I'm a BAD American.

2007-04-01T15:55:00.000-06:00

White & Nerdy - Weird Al Yankovitc

2007-04-01T14:37:00.000-06:00

I have two questions for you, and then you can get on to the interesting stuff. First, does anyone have an absolutely beautiful definition of "abolish"? I'm looking at definitions of "abolish" in the context of this year's NCFCA resolution: Resolved: that NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) should be significantly reformed or abolished. Second, should I download Picasa for pictures? It looks interesting, but...

One of my friends sent this to me, and I thought everyone should have a chance to see it. The thing itself wasn't as funny as the comments that he (? I'm assuming he put in the comments) put at the end of each label.

In case you needed further proof that the human race is doomed to stupidity, here are some actual label instructions on consumer goods.

On a Sears hairdryer - "Do not use while sleeping."
(Darn, and that's the only time I have to work on my hair)

On a bag of Fritos - "You could be a winner! No purchase necessary. Details inside."
(The shoplifter special?)

On a bar of Dial soap - "Directions: Use like regular soap."
(And that would be how???...)

On some Swanson frozen dinners - "Serving suggestion: Defrost."
(But, it's "just" a suggestion)

On Tesco's Tiramisu dessert (printed on the bottom) - "Do not turn upside down."
(Well...duh, a bit late, huh!)

On Marks & Spencer Bread Pudding - "Product will be hot after heating."
(...and you thought????...)

On packaging for a Rowenta iron - "Do not iron clothes on body."
(But wouldn't this save me more time?)

On Boot's Children Cough Medicine - "Do not drive a car or operate machinery after taking this medication."
(We could do a lot to reduce the rate of construction accidents if we could just get those 5-year-olds with head-colds off those forklifts.)

On Nytol Sleep Aid - "Warning: May cause drowsiness."
(And...I'm taking this because???...)

On most brands of Christmas lights - "For indoor or outdoor use only."
(As opposed to...what?)

On a Japanese food processor - "Not to be used for the other use."
(Now, somebody out there, help me on this. I'm a bit curious.)

On Sainsbury's peanuts - "Warning: contains nuts."
(Talk about a news flash)

On an American Airlines packet of nuts - "Instructions: Open packet, eat nuts."
(Step 3: maybe, uh...fly Delta?)

On a child's Superman costume - "Wearing of this garment does not enable you to fly."
(I don't blame the company. I blame the parents for this one.)

On a Swedish chainsaw - "Do not attempt to stop chain with your hands."
(Oh my gosh...was there a lot of this happening somewhere?)

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I loved the one about the children's cough medicine. What about you?

2007-03-30T21:10:00.000-06:00

If you're looking for a way to get scholarships for college, I highly recommend FastWeb. Signing up with them probably takes 30 minutes (they want to know enough about you that they don't have to load you with every single possible scholarship out there...), but it's well worth it.

Josh had a cool post that I'd like to share with you:

Ways to Maintain a Healthy Level of Insanity

1. At lunch time, sit in your parker car with sunglasses on and point a hair dryer at passing cars. See if they slow down.

2. Page yourself over the intercom. Don't disguise your voice.

3. Every time someone asks you to do something, ask if they want fries with that.

4. Put your garbage can on your desk and label it "In".

5. Put decaf in the coffee maker for 3 weeks. Once everyone has gotten over their caffeine addictions, switch to espresso.

6. In the memo field of all your checks, write "For Smuggling Diamonds".

7. Finish all your sentences with "In Accordance With The Prophecy".

8. Dont use any punctuation

9. As often as possible, skip rather than walk.

10. Order a diet water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.

11. Specify that your drive-through order is "To Go".

12. Sing along at the opera

13. Go to a poetry recital and ask why the poems don't rhyme.

14. Put mosquito netting around your work area and play tropical sounds all day.

15. Five days in advance, tell your friends you can't attend their party because you're not in the mood.

16. Have your co-workers address you by your wrestling name, Rock Bottom.

17. When the money comes out of the ATM, scream "I won! I won!"

18. When leaving the zoo, start running towards the parking lot, yelling, "Run for your lives! They're loose!"

19. Tell your children over dinner, "Due to the economy, we are going to have to let one of you go."

2007-03-30T21:01:00.000-06:00

Well, this blog is getting boring, weird, and downright scary in some ways. (See my rants if you don't understand...) So, because Mark has started the trend, I'm going to try posting only really random or important stuff on here. My other blog, called Eloquent Journalism, will be my girly rantish blog, while this one will be lighter, random, and less "thoughtful". Of course, it might not work, but I'm going to try it for a little while. Any thoughts, suggestions, comments, or food? :)

2007-03-18T16:15:00.000-06:00

I have nothing brilliant to say. But here's a verse that might be helpful:

Philippians 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, But in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves.

Hope you've had a restful Sunday! Isn't God truly amazing? He just keeps showing me just how faithful and good and satisfying He is.

Please pray for us as we enter into this next week. We're doing a speech and debate qualifier at the capitol, and it's four days long because of the mandatory student registration the night before. I'm already having nightmares about forgetting our debate boxes, our duo, etc.

Please pray that God would speak through and use us for His glory above all else. We don't have to win ANY of our debates...Also, please pray for Esther as she's still fighting some sickness, and this is her first speech AND debate qualifier.

Thanks!

2007-03-14T16:31:00.001-06:00

This is truly called a rant. If you don’t want to read my thoughts, please skip this post. Many others are happy and more cheerful.

Why is it that we as humans get so wrapped up in this world? I mean, even as Christians, it’s so hard to let go of anything special here on earth. Special people become too special, that nice house that you just moved into becomes your addiction, and both usually have to go away because God is jealous.

My sister has described me as obsessive-compulsive, and she’s probably right. No, I’m not taking drugs (although I probably need to…that’s another story for another day), but I do obsess a lot. The everyday interactions with people are bad enough, but what do you do when something in particular catches your attention and you can’t stop thinking about it? What then?

These are the times that try men’s souls…or a woman’s soul…I’m a Christian teenager, so I’m supposed to have all the answers, right? Hah! Far from it. I wander the halls these days, moping, getting frustrated with myself because I know I shouldn’t be moping, shouldn’t be unhappy. But I am.

I don’t have all the answers, and I’m still working on this one, but I believe that this unhappiness and misery is just another way of God calling us. He shows us how miserable this world is and calls us to Himself. Darn it, I wish I would learn another way than through pain, though!

Zephaniah 3:17 comes to mind:

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.

Psalm 37, perhaps one of my favorite Psalms, also calls:

Psalm 37:3-7a

Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:

He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;

Then, of course, particularly poignant right now is

Philippians 4:11

Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content

I Timothy 6:8

And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.

2007-03-13T16:34:00.000-06:00

I have another blog. And because I'm lazy, I'm going to just direct you over there. It's kinda cool, but it doesn't have music. *sniff* Now I should go make supper... God bless!

2007-03-08T17:06:00.000-07:00

These are some of my favorite hymns, which I copied from one of our hymnbooks. Hope they are as helpful to you as they have been to me!

We Have Not Known Thee As We Ought

We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses. Neh. 1:7

We have not known thee as we ought,

Nor learned thy wisdom, grace, and pow’r;

The things of earth have filled our thought,

And trifles of the passing hour.

Lord, give us light thy truth to see,

And make us wise in knowing thee.

We have not feared thee as we ought,

Nor bowed beneath thine awesome eye,

Nor guarded deed and word and thought,

Remembering that God was nigh.

Lord, give us faith to know thee near,

And grant the grace of holy fear.

We have not loved thee as we ought,

Nor cared that we are loved by thee;

Thy presence we have condly sought,

And feebly longed thy face to see.

Lord, give a pure and loving heart

To feel and own the love thou art.

We have not served thee as we ought;

Alas! The duties left undone,

The work with little fervor wrought,

The battles lost, or scarcely won!

Lord, give the zeal, and give the might, For thee to toil, for thee to fight.

*-*-*-*

Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus

Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth. Is. 45:22

O soul, are you weary and troubled?

No light in the darkness you see?

There’s light for a look at the Savior,

And life more abundant and free!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in his wonderful face;

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim

In the light of his glory and grace.

Through death into life everlasting

He passed, and we follow him there;

Over us sin no more hath dominion—

For more than conqu’rors we are!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in his wonderful face;

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim

In the light of his glory and grace.

His Word shall not fail you—he promised;

Believe him and all will be well:

Then go to a world that is dying,

His perfect salvation to tell!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in his wonderful face;

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim

In the light of his glory and grace.

*-*-*-*

Jesus, Lover of My Soul

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? Rom. 8:35

Jesus, lover of my soul,

Let me to thy bosom fly,

While the nearer waters roll,

While the tempest still is high:

Hide me, O my Savior, hide,

Till the storm of life is past;

Safe into the heave guide,

O receive my soul at last!

Other refuge have I none,

Hangs my helpless soul on thee;

Leave, ah! Leave me not alone,

Still support and comfort me!

All my trust on thee is stayed,

All my help from thee I bring;

Cover my defenseless head

With the shadow of thy wing.

Thou, O Christ, art all I want;

More than all in thee I find:

Raise the fallen, cheer the faint,

Heal the sick, and lead the blind.

Just and holy is thy name;

I am all unrighteousness;

False and full of sin I am,

Thou art full of truth and grace.

Plenteous grace with thee is found,

Grace to cover all my sin;

Let the healing streams abound;

Make and keep me pure within:

Thou of life the fountain art,

Freely let me take of thee;

Spring thou up within my heart,

Rise to all eternity.

*-*-*-*

How Great Thou Art

Great is the LORD, and most worthy of praise. Ps. 48:1

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder

Consider all the worlds thy hands have made,

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,

Thy pow’r tho’out the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul,

My Savior God, to thee:

How great thou art,

How great thou art!

Then sings my soul,

My Savior God, to thee:

How great thou art,

How great thou art!

When thro’ the woods and forest glades I wander

And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees,

When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,

And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze;

Then sings my soul,

My Savior God, to thee:

How great thou art,

How great thou art!

Then sings my soul,

My Savior God, to thee:

How great thou art,

How great thou art!

And when I think that God, his son not sparing,

Sent him to die, I scarce can take it in,

That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,

He bled and died to take away my sin.

Then sings my soul,

My Savior God, to thee:

How great thou art,

How great thou art!

Then sings my soul,

My Savior God, to thee:

How great thou art,

How great thou art!

When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation

And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!

Then I shall bow in humble adoration,

And there proclaim, my God, how great thou art.

*-*-*-*

Amazing Grace

Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 1 Chron. 17:16

Amazing grace!—how sweet the sound—

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found,

Was blind, but now I see.

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,

And grace my fears relieved;

How precious did that grace appear

The hour I first believed!

Thro’ many dangers, toils, and snares,

I have already come;

‘tis grace has brought me safe thus far,

And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me,

His Word my home secures;

He will my shield and portion be,

As long as life endures.

And when this flesh and heart shall fail,

And mortal life shall cease,

I shall possess within the veil

A life of joy and peace.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years,

Bright shining as the sun,

We’ve no less days to sign God’s praise

Than when we’ve first begun.

2007-02-28T10:30:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you, tomorrow...AACK!!! Tomorrow begins the Centennial State IE (Individual Events) Qualifier here in Colorado. I am excited and worried. Excited because 1) tomorrow evening is a dance, which I hope will be a lot of fun and really special and 2) speech is fun to do. Worried because I don't feel ready for either of the events I'm entered in - Duo Interpretation with Esther (we're doing The Tale of Samuel Whiskers, by Beatrix Potter) and Extemporaneous Speaking (current events...blech). Whenever I try to force myself to write deep, philosophic things, I usually end up ranting about something that no one cares about, including myself, so I shall stop for today. However, I do ask that you pray for us as we participate in this competition and do the dance tomorrow evening. We truly need God's blessings this weekend. Thanks!

2007-02-27T08:41:00.000-07:00

Webn8, I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy this. Everyone else might, too...

If GM had advanced at the same rate as Windows...

For all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for the way computers have enhanced our lives, read on.

At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon."

In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating: If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:

1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.

2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.

3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.

4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.

5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive -- but would run on only five percent of the roads.

6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single "This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation" warning light.

7. The airbag system would ask "Are you sure?" before deploying.

8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.

9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.

10. You'd have to press the "Start" button to turn the engine off.

2007-02-25T16:28:00.000-07:00

Stillness

Silence. An agonizing stillness. tortured nerves. It always amazes me how God turns these times of misery into something so wonderful, something that words don't fully express beyond "a peace that passes all understanding". Today, after lots of things happening this week, I was able to settle down, but it wasn't rest-inducing. If anything, it created mass mayhem in my mind because I was finally able to hear my thoughts...

My thoughts tend to jump around a lot, except when I'm obsessing, which I was doing. I was thinking too much about one certain person, and it was making me totally miserable. I began to be jealous, frustrated with myself, etc. Finally, while the rest of my family was watching Chicken Little (an okay movie, by the way, although I prefer Cars & Madagascar), God basically tapped me on the shoulder & suggested that I read His Word. Wow! What a concept!

After reading His Word, admitting I'd rather be obsessing, and praying about it, He truly gave me joy, peace & strength. It's incredible what time with God will do. So often I feel like I'm communicating with a brick wall, yet He keeps answering prayer. Guess I need to pray more! But really: isn't God great, folks?

2007-02-19T13:58:00.000-07:00

I have never been the best communicator. My younger sister is so much better than me in a good way (as I shall explain later), although it used to be that she was just loud an obnoxious. I don’t say that to poke fun at her but rather to tell everyone how wonderful she has become. I couldn’t ask for a cooler sister...and I have two of them!

This weekend was one of the most fun ones I have had in a really long time. Wednesday evening, we went to AWANA. Because it was Valentine’s Day (also known as “Single’s Awareness Day—S.A.D.), we played “Honey If You Love Me”. That was quite a game...

If you’ve never played it before, here’s the general idea: Everyone sits in a circle, and one person (It) stays in the center. He or she goes up to someone in the circle and says to them, “Honey, if you love me, will you smile?” The other person is not allowed to smile and has to say, “Honey, I love you but I just can’t smile.” The two most fun parts of this game were when we got some really giggly girl who just couldn’t keep a straight face or when It was able to crack the shell of a really stern person.

Pastor Greg did a Q&A session again, talking about losing salvation. He pointed out an important fact that had taken him a while to get: There is a difference between the Old and New Testament, and that difference (with regards to this issue of salvation) is that the Holy Spirit is with us forever once we are truly saved and accept Christ as our savior. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit came and went, but now He stays for good. That’s pretty cool.

Thursday morning, Esther and I frantically finished our case, changing it from a Harms-Solvency format to a Comparative-Advantage format. That was kind of interesting, but I think it made it SOOOO much better. We actually enjoyed running our case and going Affirmative at the Peak Debate Qualifier.

Thursday afternoon we rushed over to where we normally have club and helped set up everything. It was hard work, but I really enjoyed hanging out with two girls who are now better friends than ever. We started acting really silly after supper, putting tape with writing on it on our foreheads, showing off our piano-playing skills, etc. The rest of the kids (Zach, Hillary, Lydia, Kenny, Caroline, Lizzie, and Lauren) did swing-dancing, but I promised myself a while back that I would only dance with one person, who wasn’t there, but who had originally taught me how to swing-dance.

Friday morning we were up bright and early (is 4:30 considered early? It is to me...) and were at the building to set up any last-minute things and to greet people. Our debates were as follows:

Round 1 – Affirmative against Blackburn / Campbell (win)

Round 2 – Negative against Ford / Weber (loss)

Round 3 – Affirmative against Green / Liddiard (loss)

Round 4 – Negative against Groeneveldt / Liddiard (win)

Round 5 –Affirmative against Anderson / Dasher (loss)

Saturday morning, after about three inches of snow, I drove us into Peak. It actually wasn’t that slick on the roads, and Mom had her eyes closed, so things were pretty uneventful. J We had one final debate before breaks were announced...Esther and I went Negative against Dasher / Fryberger and actually won, even though their inherency was from the night before!

Lydia and Hillary made it to out-rounds, which wasn’t surprising, but I had hoped we might break that far. Austin asked me if I was disappointed that we didn’t break, and I said that I wasn’t because I was tired, but when he asked me again, I admitted that it was a little disappointing. However, I think the Larson / Malenke and Tschappler / Tschappler teams can definitely break at the Rocky Mountain Classic.

I watched Lydia and Hillary’s first out-round debate at octos, which was Affirmative against Ford / Yeates, and they did pretty well. Although I thought the Negative side did a really good job, the judges thought Lydia and Hillary had won, which I was totally cool with. After octo’s, Lydia and Hillary broke *again*! My friend and I decided to go watch Green / Liddard (Affirmative) vs. Byrnes / Carlson (Negative)...that was a FULL room, and I hope never to be in the type of Cross-Examination I witnessed between the two teams.

Lydia and Hillary just wouldn’t stop, and they made it to semi-finals and were Negative against Ford / Weber. They did an excellent job, and I was pretty sure they had won. During the break for tab to calculate everything for finals, we had supper. When they announced breaks, Lydia and Hillary had done it again: They went into the final round of Peak Debate Qualifier, going Affirmative against our own club-mates, the Enos / Favero team. Wow...

While Lydia and Hillary didn’t win the final round, they did an incredible job, and I was so proud of my *little* sister. She is an incredible speaker, and I believe she will have a huge impact on the people around her as a result. God truly blessed this tournament, and I really enjoyed it for several reasons:

1) Esther and I actually won three of our six debates.

2) We got wonderful experience going against three incredible teams that are all at least in their 3rd years.

3) I got first speaker against the Anderson / Dasher team, a feat that I never thought was possible.

4) My *little* sister made it to finals!

5) I got to spend time with a totally wonderful person during the out-round debates.

2007-02-13T11:17:00.000-07:00

Much Ado About Nothing

The movie based on Shakespeare’s play called “Much Ado About Nothing” is one of the best I’ve ever seen. Funny...this play, which is a comedy of his, made me cry more than his tragedy, “Hamlet”. That’s probably because it was so beautiful and yet seemed to be impossible in today’s world.

The story is about the matchmaking of Don Pedro (Prince of Arragon), who comes to the house of Leonato (Governor of Messina) for a visit. While he is there, he encourages the love of Hero (Leonato’s daughter) and his good friend, Claudio. His bastard brother, Don John (played by Keanu Reeves from The Matrix), decides he wants to make Don Pedro’s life miserable, and he goes about this by lying about Hero’s honor.

On the night before Hero and Claudio’s planned wedding, Claudio and the two brothers witness what seems to be Hero’s unfaithfulness but is really just a trick played by Don John’s evil minions. However, it is realistic enough...The next morning he accuses her (at the altar, nonetheless) of being unfaithful, throws her aside, and leaves. A wise friar counsels Leonato, Beatrice, Benedick, Hero, and Beatrice’s father to say that Hero died and hide her away for a while so that Claudio will regret what he did.

After it is discovered that all was a trick, Claudio and Don Pedro go to Hero’s apparent funeral (while she watches it all from a window...must have been quite an experience). Leonato asks Claudio to marry Beatrice instead, since Claudio must make amends for causing Hero’s death. He agrees, since he is so sorry and would do anything. The next day, at the wedding ceremony, there are four women in veils waiting for Claudio. He discovers that Hero is still alive and marries her, while another wedding between Benedick and Beatrice takes place.

The most touching part of this story, though, was the side-story about Beatrice and Benedick, who dislike each other and aren’t afraid to say so. Both are firmly decided that they will never marry, yet with the schemes of Don Pedro (who has quite the mischievous mind), they realize that they do indeed love each other. The most amazing part in this side-story, in my mind, was when Beatrice told Benedick to revenge her cousin (Hero) by killing Claudio (who is one of Benedick’s best friends) and Benedick said he would. Even though Benedick does not have to kill Claudio, it was an incredible test of his love, and he passed with flying colors.

The testing of love for one another (both between Benedick and Beatrice and between Claudio and Hero) was the coolest theme wound throughout this story. What amazing love existed then! Does it still exist today? I sure hope so! However, it seems to have gone out of style.

Movie stars and all the “important” people are “cooler” (somehow) when they have multiple exes...Why does it work that way? Why is one love for life out of “fashion”?

I guess I shall be an unfashionable person, then.

Another part that I loved about this movie was the music, such as the tune accompanying the following lyrics:

Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more;

Men were deceivers ever;

One foot in sea and one on shore,

To one thing constant never;

Then sigh not so,

But let them go,

And be you blithe and bonny;

Converting all your sounds of woe

Into Hey nonny, nonny.

Sing no more ditties, sing no mo

Of dumps so dull and heavy;

The fraud of men was ever so

Since summer first was heavy.

Then sigh not so,

But let them go,

And be you blithe and bonny;

Converting all your sounds of woe

Into Hey nonny, nonny.

Unfortunately, there are some parts in there that really don’t need to be there, or are over-dramatized...However, it’s still a good movie, and I highly recommend it. http://silentgalaxy.com/mus/doyle_goodbye.mp3

2007-01-30T11:39:00.000-07:00

This article tickled me pink...

"Homeward Bound: Public-school advocates cannot compete, so they try to control alternatives," by Joel Belz, taken from WORLD Magazine's January 27, 2007 edition.

It always amazes me how quickly someone with a liberal, open-minded, no-absolutes, loosey-goosey, tolerant mindset is able to move on to try to take total control. And especially so in the field of educating our children.
It happened again this month in a PBS television segment on homeschooling in America - which in some respects was remarkably fair and accurate (if quite limited) in its portrayal of a movement that now involves somewhere between 1 million and 2 million children in America.
But that portrayal was bracketed between two ominous references. Even in his brief 66-word opener, anchor Bob Abernethy made a point of serving notice that "in some states there is very little or no government oversight of what the kids are learning - which is just the way most homeschool parents want it." Just why it was important to kick off the description of the movement with that sort of jab was hardly clear.
Things got clearer, though, when the program got toward its final minutes. The evidence until then seemed pretty positive. But now, interviewer Lucky Severson brings on Professor Robert Reich from Stanford University, who from his lofty academic perch worries that the state might find itself shortchanged in its "interest in knowing that children are growing up to become well-rounded public citizens."
"If parents can control every aspect of a kid's education," the professor frets, "shield them from exposure to the things that the parents deem sinful or objectionable, screen in only the things which accord to their convictions - and not allow them exposure to the world of a democracy - will the children grow up then basically in the image of their parents, servile to their own parents' beliefs?"
Then the professor shows how generous and liberal-minded he is, by adding that "I'm not anti-homeschooling in the sense that I want to see homeschooling banned. I just want good regulations to apply to those parents who choose to homeschool." That's all. Reich says that without some kind of regulation, the states won't have any way of knowing who is being homeschooled, how well they are doing, and who is not being schooled at all.
The idea, to be sure, is to have those regulations drawn up by the people who are already setting such a high standard for education for the nation at large - the state departments of education, the federal government, and the National Education Association.
To its credit, PBS gave the final word in that particular program to Bruce Shortt, an attorney, a homeschooler, and an activist in a movement to encourage Christians to leave state schools. "I think it's ironic," Shortt responded, "that someone with an obviously authoritarian agenda is attempting to lecture others. Unfortunately, education seems to be one of those areas in which the failures astonishingly insist on trying to regulate the successful."
After the program, Shortt told WORLD: "Reich's attack is fundamentally ideological. He is clearly a collectivist who, like his fellow travelers in the universities, is seeking complete cultural hegemony. What he is really objecting to is not the ineffectiveness of homeschooling, but its effectiveness. A homeschooled child is effectively a child outside the grasp of the state and, therefore, outside the grasp of those who control the state's educational institutions. He fears that these children will have a worldview of which he disapproves and that he finds threatening. That is what drives Reich. His real concern is not 'ethical autonomy' or the welfare of children in any conventional sense; it is ideological control. Frankly, his ostensible arguments are so weak that it is difficult to view them as any other than a smokescreen for his ideological and cultural agenda."
That which is true of such efforts to control homeschoolers is just as true of those who would impose rigid state control on private and parochial schools. The evidence is in - and no one truly worries anymore about the educational prowess of such efforts. Graduates of these schools, like homeschooling graduates, tend to excel wherever they go. And that's precisely what people like Prof. Reich are so worried about.

What I find so fascinating about Professor Reich's argument with kids turning into basic images of their parents is that he probably believes in adolescence and the normalization of rebellion among adolescents. If all kids are rebellious when they turn into teenagers, why should homeschooled kids be any different? If they are different, why?

My second comment on this article is specifically aimed at Professor Reich's ideas about having the state apply more regulations to homeschooling.

1) We have plenty of regulations right now. 2) The state does know who is being homeschooled via things like the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, the PSAT, etc. 3) We already know that homeschooled kids are doing way better than average kids.

Okay, well, I need to go work on scholarship applications, Extemp, our debate case, and Biology. Hope that doesn't make me a nitwit because the state isn't breathing over my shoulder...

2007-01-17T20:33:00.000-07:00

Marriage: The Path to Happiness or Holiness?

Is marriage about happiness or holiness? I often see it as a way to achieve the happiness I do not have at home with the people in my family. I have been created with this desire for romance, for excitement, and for true love. Somehow I think this will all be attained in marriage.

Any married people reading this are probably laughing right now. "She's REALLY got her head in the clouds, doesn't she?" you may be asking. Yeah, actually it's in the stars, but...

Marriage is a beautiful thing. God created it, and God created all things well. However, sin makes things ugly and disfigured. So how can marriage be more about making people holy? Well, we have to learn how to deal with another human being who is even closer to us than anyone else before (hopefully). We have to learn how to put up with their faults, work with them, and love them.

It seems impossible after a while. After seeing the multiple arguments that my parents get into, the ways they misunderstand each other, the ways they work together, and the ways they manage to raise kids and not kill them in the process, PLUS growing spiritually, convinces me that there is something more. Some Higher Power enables them to do what they do and do it well.

Marriage is about making people holy, not making them happy.

2006-10-17T20:21:00.000-06:00

Get Out and Vote!!!

This is an announcement to let all Colorado people know what I think about the Doug Lamborn vs. Jay Fawcett campaign for the 5th Congressional District, which would take Senator Joel Hefley's seat in the United States Congress. I hope to represent a large portion of the Christian Coalition, which Fawcett uses against Lamborn...Last Saturday, October 14, 2006, my sisters, mother and I attended a debate between Lamborn and Fawcett. As a debater, I set aside my personal views to judge the debate as fairly as possible and make an informed decision between the two candidates. I came away stunned.

Why stunned? Doug Lamborn had won by simply being quiet. Of course, he hadn't been silent throughout the entire debate--he had answered the questions posed to both candidates and refuted Fawcett's arguments--for the most part. However, Fawcett had used so many logical fallacies throughout his speeches that I came away thinking that he must be desperate.

Jay Fawcett constantly attacked Doug Lamborn, frustrating the part of the audience that was not firmly attached to Fawcett. In addition to attacking Lamborn in many cruel ways (logical fallacy of ad hominem), he also used the logical fallacy of appeal to the people, saying that he's attended Focus on the Family, Ted Haggard's church (also known as New Life Church), and the Gay Pride Festival. In doing so, however, he shot himself in the foot. Everyone supporting the former probably doesn't support the latter, and vice-versa.

Doug Lamborn may not be the world's next Patrick Henry in his fiery speeches, but Fawcett's attacks were just painful. If I had been in Fawcett's place and made the arguments he made, ANY judge would have decided I had lost that round. Attacking the opponent instead of the argument and trying to appease everyone just doesn't cut it. I urge everyone out there to vote for Doug Lamborn on November 7th, no matter what party you're affiliated with.

2006-06-12T21:35:00.000-06:00

Wow, it seems like I never post on here. Please let me know when you get sick of seeing the same post over and over again, and I'll force my creative juices to work. Besides, they shouldn't be TOO lazy during the summer! Speaking of summer...I'm really enjoying this break from the hectic schedule of school. It's nice to be able to kick back and not have to do everything all the time. We still DO stuff, but it isn't the same, if you know what I mean. Actually, tomorrow, Mom and I are planning to go into town and ask our local hospital if I might be able to work in a position there. I've been interested in nursing since I was hospitalized in 1997 with apendicitis (sp?), and this will be an awesome opportunity (Lord willing) to see if I really am interested in it. The future is a scary, but very exciting thing! Check out Natasha's blog to see what she has to say about it! Any ideas on how to get those creative juices going?

2006-06-05T16:41:00.000-06:00

I have lost a friend this day. He is in heaven, but I shall never know him on this earth like I had hoped to. Please pray for our family during this heartwrenching time.

2006-05-23T20:29:00.000-06:00

Quizzes

You've probably taken one before. Maybe in school in preparation for an exam, or maybe online when you were bored. Today I really wasn't doing what I was supposed to and was just messing around on the computer. That can be dangerous a lot of times, but I discovered an important truth I'll tell you about in a little bit...

I went to a quiz website where you can create your own quizzes for people to take. Pretty cool, but almost 90% of the quizzes were plain sleazy. All I had to do was look at the titles or the username of the person who put them together. I won't tell you the name of the website, because I know how contrary and curious human nature is.

However, as I was taking some of the quizzes, I had several thoughts that I believe God gave me. The first was that these people are so lost. One quiz was what worldview I have. Many of the statements I so did not agree with, and the quiz almost expected you to agree with them.

Another quiz was about what political type you are. I ended up being a Social Republican Conservative (or something like that), but the options favorable to what I believe didn't sound that favorable. Goes to show that even quizzes can be biased! *gasp* What a concept.

But the bigger concept that I was getting to is that so many of these people are bored or just plain evil. Not that I'm not a sinner like them, but they were almost flaunting it, if that makes sense. Nasty, man!

The other thought (don't know what else to call it) I had while at this website was that I really don't need other's opinions! Some people might ask whether I'm "kissable" or "dateable" or really a "good friend", yet this is all coming from their point of view and probably not a Christian worldview at that. All I need is God's opinions, and they can all be found if I just look...in the Bible!!!

One of the quizzes was whether or not you're "clean" inside. Well, guess what? I already know that I'm not when I sin, yet I can become clean when I ask for God's forgiveness, which is made readily available through Christ's death on the cross. What more do we need to know?

I'm through ranting. What are your thoughts on the matter?

2006-05-05T22:10:00.000-06:00

"Purpose? What purpose?"

I've been struggling with this question of purpose recently. And I know so many of us do, because books such as "The Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren are snatched up as soon as they come off the press. Why? Because we all want to know that our lives have value--that we have a purpose for living here on earth besides the everyday monotony of school or work or whatever else occupies our time.

As a Christian, I cannot help but come back to one conclusion, which comes from the Westminister Shorter Catechism, which I learned as a very young child:

Q: What is man's chief end? A: Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever!

I told Dad last night about this incredibly revelation, and he simply said he couldn't remember the exact quote, but that C.S. Lewis had once said that life is about finding that the trite truths really are true. For example, we can sing "Jesus Loves Me" in Sunday School, but if we go to our deathbeds and have discovered that the following saying is true, then we have indeed learned to live:

Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.

These truths are so crucial and so simple. I often wonder at God's marvellous patience that He does not bonk us on the head with a 2X4 and say, "duh! Don't you get it?" and pound it into our skulls. As Dad likes to point out: the Holy Spirit is truly a gentleman. He will not force himself upon us. We must learn to listen to Him.

I'd love to look more into this subject of purpose and maybe write an Original Oratory on the subject for next year's speech and debate tournament (no, school never is far from my mind), so if you have any thoughts or comments or questions, PLEASE feel free to comment!

2006-04-03T09:09:00.000-06:00

Journal of the Rocky Mountain Classic

Afterthoughts on the Tournament

By Allegra Tschappler

Wow, what a time. Lydia and I had so much fun during these last three days. The first day we had four debates. Here's the record:

Round 1: Went aff against the Ford/Weber team and lost

Round 2: Went neg against the Lorence/Blum team and lost

Round 3: Went aff against the Albrecht/Albrecht team and won

Round 4: Went neg against the Scheumann/Scheumann team and lost

Between rounds 2 and 3, Lydia and I presented our speeches. Lydia did her DI (Dramatic Interpretation) and I did my OO (Original Oratory). Then Lydia did her OO and I did my Extemp (Extemporaneous). We rushed back to the third debate because the speeches got behind. Luckily, however, the debates were held up as well, so we weren't late.

The second day was fun because we had stayed up until about 12 pm.

Round 5: Went neg against the Burrough/Carabelos team and lost

Round 6: Went aff against the Miller/Favero team and lost

Between the debate rounds, Lydia and I presented our speeches again. This time in the opposite order of how we had done them before. Mom and Austin Kumbera sat in on my extemp, and the Meades on my OO. That was rather nerve-wracking, but I still enjoyed having the support there. Judges can seem so imposing sometimes!

The third day, we had gotten to bed really late again. Bethany Blackburn was having problems because she had taken too much asthma medicine, so that was an interesting start to the day. At the announcements, I learned that I had broken to semi-finals in extemp. I started crying like a baby.

Mrs. Anger, Daniel, William, Lydia and Mr. Anger were all so supportive, and I cried on Mrs. Anger's shoulder. What a cool family! William also broke in impromptu, although he didn't feel like he did well at the semis. I didn't do that well either. Neither of us broke to finals, but we were okay with that.

Lydia and I had such a blast hanging around Daniel when we weren't doing any debates or speeches. We actually didn't watch anyone else's except the Byrnes/Kumbera team when they went aff against the Rankin/Lewis team in semis. Daniel sat in on our last debate with the Miller/Favero team and was really encouraging. He flows so well!

Later on, the lights went out. There was a serious power outage throughout Denver, so the judges and debaters were looking at their papers during the policy debates with flashlights and cell phones. We won't forget that!

Lydia, Daniel, Mrs. Anger and I all re-organized the rooms how they were supposed to be for school in the dark, although I didn't help that much. Then we went and watched the rest of the awards ceremony. I got an award for being in extemp semi finals as well as for community service. William got a LOT of awards.

The lights came on towards the end, and we were all happy. We went around to the other rooms without our shoes and moved them back the way they were supposed to be. Leaving the Angers was so depressing. Lydia, Daniel and I all were somber as we left.

God truly blessed us during this tournament, and I thank you readers for all of your prayers.

2006-03-29T08:29:00.000-07:00

Journal of the Rocky Mountain Classic

Tomorrow Begins The Tournament!

By Allegra Tschappler

I am kind of worried about the RMC today, but not as bad as in the past. Lydia and I still need to work on our debate case and our speeches, but it's not that stressful. I thank God for this lack of stress, but I'm wondering why it's not there...hmm. Maybe it's a psychological illness one gets right before one passes out. :-)

Just think: It could be so much worse than it is.

Scenario 1: You are at the RMC, getting ready to debate, when you suddenly realize you're wearing pajamas! That was what my dream was about last night, and I've got to tell you--not wearing pajamas suddenly seems like a blessing. Funny how small things can be so assuring, isn't it?

Scenario 2: You are hospitalized with brain cancer. We know a family with ten kids. The third child was hospitalized a year ago with brain cancer, and he's still alive. He was given a two year life, but God has spared him thus far, and we believe he will continue to live.

This young man (well, he's older than I am, but still a teenager) wants to be a teacher, and he wants to teach math! He's got his plans laid out, and this has come, I believe, as a result of his cancer. He wants to DO something with his life, and I don't blame him.

How many of us are trying to get an education so that we can DO something when we're grown? Why can't we DO something RIGHT NOW? God has not given us eternity to witness to others--just the short period of life here on earth.

It doesn't take a scientist to see that we can witness while we're still young. In fact, when we're young, we have a better platform because people are willing to listen to us. We've got a life outside of getting an education and becoming an adult, and we need to take it and DO something with it!

Hey, we might not win, but we are building a platform to talk to others. In fact, some kids that might be at the RMC might not even be Christians. They may just be there because their parents are Christians and they were forced into it. They might have even wanted to join speech and debate and came here because they were homeschooled but still not be Christians. Use this opportunity to get out there and witness. Like Delbert says in Treasure Planet, "This is the chance of a lifetime, and now my heart is screaming out at me: Go, Delbert! Go, Delbert!"

2006-03-28T20:09:00.000-07:00

Journal of the Rocky Mountain Classic

2 Days Until Tournament

By Allegra Tschappler

Oh my gosh, I cannot believe the RMC is the day after tomorrow! It's less than two days, actually. Scary stuff.

Today, we did pretty much nothing on our speeches or debate case. Instead, we went up to Denver and had lunch with our dad at Bayou Bob's. Good food, and Lydia and I stressed less than we could have. Unfortunately, we still felt literally sick every time we thought about the nearness of the RMC.

After eating a lovely meal with a lovely family, Dad went back to the office, and we went to Claire's. We got some stuff for Esther as well as some junk for Lydia and I, in preparation for the RMC and Esther's birthday, of course. Then we went and splurged even more by having shakes, riding the trolley, going to Goodwill, and getting a few necessities at Wal Mart. On the drive home, I enjoyed playing with Ben and tickling him (fun stuff!).

No, I'm not trying to make any of you dear readers and fellow sufferers jealous, but it does bring up an important observation: Time is precious, and we choose how to spend it. We can spend it worrying about a speech and debate tournament that is only three days long, or we can spend some of it with our families. The choice, my dear reader, is up to you.

I also spent some time just talking to God. It's a little more difficult to do when you're studying health courts or the negative effects of the litigation system. He lovingly reminded me that we are only breaths on the wind, and that our purpose here on earth is to become stronger in our relationship with Christ and show others the way to Him. What a cool day, and what a realization to come away with!!

P.S. This kitten facing the tree is how I feel facing the RMC! :-)

2006-03-27T17:47:00.000-07:00

Journal of the Rocky Mountain Classic

3 Days Until Tournament

By Allegra Tschappler

Okay, must...not...freak! I'm so excited about the RMC, yet almost afraid of it. That resolution to not worry whether we lose or win is constantly in my mind, but it doesn't keep me from being rather scared about the whole thing. But Dad said that stress is good, and I'm trying to believe him.

Steps we are taking to get ready for this huge, scary thing:

Lydia and I are trying to go to bed earlier. The more sleep we have, the better off we will be (theoretically). Plus, that way we can get up earlier and work on debate and speech more! What incentive we have...

In addition to sleeping more, we are going to take Vitamin B, some other brain-empowering supplements and some pills for wellness maintenance. If we got sick this week, well, we would know God didn't want us to go. To see the benefits of protein (bars of which, we are hopefully going to be taking as well) and Vitamin B, please see my other blog: http://credohealth.blogspot.com.

As well as preparing our bodies for debate, we are also frantically writing negative briefs. It's a long process, and I'm learning just how much time I should have spent on them before. But oh well...it's too late to worry now!

These verses are helpful:

Philippians 4:6. Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

Psalms 37:5. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act...

Psalms 40:3. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.

Psalms 62:8. Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge. Selah

Isaiah 40: 28-31. Do you not know? Have you not heard? Yahweh is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth. He never grows faint or weary; there is no limit to His understanding. He gives strength to the weary and strengthens the powerless. Youths may faint and grow weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.

Luke 16:10. Whoever is faithful in very little is also faithful in much; and whoever is unrighteous in very little is also unrighteous in much.

We must learn to be faithful with what God has given us: whether it be the opportunity to participate in speech and debate, the money He graciously gives us, or any other gifts He may so lavishly bestow on us. If we will be faithful stewards of His posessions, He will say at the end, "Well, done, good and faithful servant." That is the end to which I strive.

2006-03-26T17:26:00.000-07:00

Journal of the Rocky Mountain Classic

4 Days Until Tournament

By Allegra Tschappler

Today is Sunday. It should be a day of rest, but I'm pretty much just freaking out! Isn't that inspiring for you possible future debaters?

Lydia's and my decision has come to this: we don't care if we win. We don't care if we lose. We just want to have a blast, and I think we will. Especially since we're staying with the world's most awesome family!

We are planning on sharing everything so that we'll have less junk to carry around. I mean, if you had to carry around a debate box (which is about 25 pounds right there) times two (we each have one), wouldn't you want to go light on the clothes and junk?

Lydia hasn't been feeling all that well anyway, so I am praying we will be in top-shape when this thing comes around...which it will be doing, whether or not we like it! EEP!

How's that for a closer look at debate prep? Actually, we really are preparing. Lydia and I are planning to write SEVERAL negative briefs on generic cases tomorrow, taking the evidence from other negative briefs in other sources and putting them into one nice, neat, and spiffy package. How's that for exciting?

As well as having good intentions for preparing for debate, we are also frantically working on memorization for our speeches, as well as fixing up any glitches we may have in them. It's exciting, but the time crunch is getting scary. Can't.....breathe.....

2006-03-24T18:45:00.000-07:00

Journal of the Rocky Mountain Classic

6 Days Until Tournament

By Allegra Tschappler

Hello! As part of the assignment for my Journalism class, all the students are required to keep a journal of the daily events. Hopefully this will inspire others to time, join speech and debate if they are the right age or judge competitions if they can't compete. If you are at all interested in judging, please let me know via comments on this blog. We have a competition coming up April 20-22 in Colorado, and judges are always appreciated.

But, to start this journal, I'll just let you know what going on for the Tschappler/Tschappler team today: We started out by working on history and finishing it up for Spring Break. We get one week for a break while we frantically prepare for the tournament.

At noon, we ate lunch and then headed over to the Griffith house to practice speeches with Joanna, Susanna, Kenny Scheumann and Caroline Scheumann. I presented my Original Oratory and got a good response out of the audience. Then I went and prepared for my Extemporaneous speech. It was only 3 minutes long and took 45 minutes to prepare! I need more practice.

Lydia presented her Dramatic Interpretation but didn't feel comfortable presenting her Original Oratory, so she watched the other ones. After presenting speeches, we watched Joanna do Apologetics and Impromptu. Then we discussed debate.

Kenny, Caroline, Susanna and Joanna all said they were nervous about the Rocky Mountain Classic. They are excellent debaters, so I feel better about being nervous. Thing is, Lydia and I don't feel that prepared. Joanna doesn't either, but she is more so than we are.

The ultimate stress is hitting me now! I wonder what it will be like with the excitement of the tournament, the fun of staying with our host family and the stress of actually speaking. However, one must remember that no matter how well we do, we are creating relationships and strengthening our ability to communicate. I enjoy talking to community judges, so this will be better than debating in front of experienced coaches!!!

I will try to post photos on here, but we won't have much internet access during the Rocky Mountain Classic. I'll take them and write on *gasp* paper, then put it all together on here...at least, that's the plan.

2006-03-24T18:12:00.000-07:00

Facts vs. Fiction

A report from the front in Iraq

By Karl Zinsmeister

Part V

(Article taken from The American Enterprise: March 2006 edition)

John Kerry recently claimed U.S. soldiers are "terrorizing" Iraqis. The #2 Democrat in the Senate, Richard Dubrin, compared American fighters to "Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime--Pol Pot or others--that had no concern for human beings." Ted Kennedy suggested G.I.s torture like Saddam Hussein. What have you observed?

None of the above. I mostly see soldiers fighting with startling care and commitment. Take, for instance, Staff Sergeant Jamie McIntyre of Queens, New York, who recently had this to say:

"I look at faces and see fellow human beings, and I say, 'O.K. This is the sacrifice I have to make to bring them freedom.' That's why I joined the military. Not for the college money, for doing what's right. Fighting under our flag. That's what our flag stands for. I believe in that stuff. Yeah, we might lose American soldiers, but they are going to lose a society, lose a people. You've got to look at the bigger picture. I've lost friends, and it hurts. It definitely hurts. But that's even more reason why I say Stay. It's something that has to be done. If we don't do it, who will?"

An e-mail I received on December 26 from a friend serving in Baghdad provides two good examples of the sort of disciplined dedication one sees regularly in Iraq:

"We lost a young soldier...This soldier didn't have to be here and he didn't have to die on Christmas Day. He was wounded in action in April and evacuated to the States for recovery. After three months on the mend, he requested to come back to rejoin his team. His name was Specialist Sergio Gudino.

"Also on Christmas Day, a newly hired Iraqi interpreter pulled a gun on one of our soldiers who works with sensitive intelligence. The Iraqi spy made Specialist Steven Clark bring him to his work space so he could look at his computer work station. The interpreter briefly turned his back to Clark and our guy immediately pulled his 9mm pistol and emptied his magazine into the Iraqi. The interpreter also got six shots off, one of which hit the soldier in his left breast pocket, but a notebook and ID card stopped the bullet. When I talked to Clark he said, 'I thought I was going to die and couldn't believe it when the guy turned his back to me.' Interesting detail: this soldier has been awarded the Pruple Heart FOUR times. He's another one who doesn't have to be here. Message to all the naysayers back home: If you think these kids aren't committed to this mission, and don't believe in what they are doing, guess again."

2006-03-21T12:57:00.000-07:00

Facts vs. Fiction

A report from the front in Iraq

By Karl Zinsmeister

Part IV

(Article taken from The American Enterprise: March 2006 edition)

But don't American combat losses fall disproportionally on minorities and the poor?

That's another myth. Though blacks and Hispanics make up 15 percent and 18 percent of America's young-adult population respectively, they have each represented less than 11 percent of the fatalities in Iraq. Fully 75 percent of the soldiers killed in Iraq have been whites (who make up 61 percent of our military-age population.

Demographic data show, furthermore, that U.S. servicemembers come from a cross-section of American society, and basically match the wider population in family educational and socioeconomic status.

If there is an imbalance in who is carrying the military load in Iraq it is between Red and Blue America. In two years of fighting in Iraq, 33 percent of U.S. military fatalties came from rural areas, though only 20 percent of the U.S. population is rural. Both city dwellers (29 percent of the U.S. population, 26 percent of Iraq fatalities) and suburbanites (51 percent of the population, 41 percent of the dead) are underrepresented among today's war casualties.

2006-03-20T20:06:00.000-07:00

Facts vs. Fiction

A report from the front in Iraq

By Karl Zinsmeister

Part III

(Article taken from The American Enterprise: March 2006 edition)

How is the morale of our soldiers holding up?

Accepting the possibility of being hurt is a part of security work. It's easy to overlook the reality that 800 public safety officers have been killed in the line of duty right here on our own home shores since the beginning of the Iraq war. This summer, the U.S. general in charge of our National Guard put his Iraq casualties in some perspective: "I lose, unfortunately, more people through private automible accidents and motorcycle accidents over the same period of time."

While always wrenching, the risks in Iraq have been overblown. And the morale of soldiers, in my experience, is much higher than one might expect. Other journalists who have spent weeks and weeks with soldiers, like Robert Kaplan, have similarly observed that our G.I.s are generally not disenchanted, but remain very spirited.

The proof of the pudding: Individuals who have actually served in Iraq and Afghanistan are signing up again at record rates. Re-enlistment totals in the active Army over the last three years are more than 6 percent above targets. Over a third of Army re-enlistments now take place in combat zones.

Today's supposed hemorrhaging in military manpower is mostly a fiction manufactured by the media. Moderate shortfalls in recruiting new bodies have hit reserve and National Guard units. The latest Army Reserve recruiging class, for instance, totaled only 96 percent of the goal.

All active duty branches, however, are exceeding their recruiting requirements in the latest monthly figures from the Department of Defense (released in December). The Army and Marine Corps (who are doing most of the hard service in Iraq) were each at 105 percent of their quotas. After a dip early in 2005, the Army has met or exceeded its goals for new recruits in every month since June. One source of pressure on the active-duty Army is the process of expanding from 482,000 soldiers to 512,000, as a dozen new combat brigades are added to the force.

We are at war, and our Army and Marines are being used hard. But there is no crisis of alienated servicemen.

[Wow, this is really encouraging! I know a guy that is thinking about joining the National Guard because a recruiter visited his house about a month ago. His mother is worried about his being shipped off to Iraq, but this makes it seem not so bad. Of course, there's always the chance that he could be killed out of hundreds, no, thousands of other guys...but that's the chance you have to take with living in general. It is true that some areas are more risky than others, but life in general is risky! Like the National Guard general said, more people die from car accidents than from fighting in Iraq. And, as Bilbo Baggins said, "It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."]

2006-03-20T19:55:00.000-07:00

Facts vs. Fiction

A report from the front in Iraq

By Karl Zinsmeister

Part II

(Article taken from The American Enterprise: March 2006 edition)

But aren't our losses mounting?

In the last ten months of 2003, Iraq hostilities claimed 324 U.S. servicemembers. In 2004, 710 were lost. In 2005, total fatalities were 712. Troops wounded in action are down from 7,920 in 2004 to 5,961 in 2005.

Deaths of foreign civilians in Iraq have also tumbled: In 2004, 196 were killed in 2005 the toll was 104.

Economic losses are also moderating. Attacks carried out on oil and gas facilities in Iraq can serve as an indicator of this. There were 146 such attacks in 2004, versus 101 in 2005.

Meanwhile, the estimated number of terrorists killed or detained in Iraq was 24, 470 in 2004, and 26, 500 in 2005.

2006-03-20T17:08:00.000-07:00

Facts vs. Fiction

A report from the front in Iraq

By Karl Zinsmeister

Part I

(Article taken from The American Enterprise: March 2006 edition)

Your editor has just returned from another month in Iraq--my fourth extended tour in the last two and a half years. During November and December I joined numberous American combat operations, including the largest air assault since the beginning of the war, walked miles of streets and roads, entered scores of homes, listened to hundreds of Iraqis, observed voting at a dozen different polling sites, and endured my third roadside ambush. With this latest firsthand experience, here are answers to some common queries about how the war is faring.

Has the Iraq war been too costly?

Well, nearly every war is riddled with disapointment and pain, Iraq certainly included. But judged fairly, Iraq has been much less costly and debacle-ridden than the Civil War, World War II, Korea, and the Cold War--each considered in retrospect to have been noble successes.

President Lincoln had to try five different commanders before settling on Ulysses Grant, and even Grant stumbled many times on the way to victory. The Union Army suffered 390,000 dead in four years, with fully 29 percent of the men who served being killed or wounded in what some critics claimed was "an unnecessary war."

World War II was a serial bloodbath. Battles like Iwo Jima, Anzio, Ardennes, and Okinawa each killed, in a matter of days and weeks, several times the number of soldiers we have lost in Iraq. Intelligence was wrong. Planning failed. Brutal collateral damage was done to civilian non-combatants. Soldiers were killed by friendly fire. POWs were sometimes executed. Military and civilian leaders miscalculated repeatedly. During WWII, 7 percent of our G.I.s were killed or wounded.

Korea was first lost before it could be re-taken, at great cost, and thanks to political interference the war ended in a fruitless stalemate. Fully 8 percent of the American soldiers who fought on the Korean peninsula were killed or wounded.

The Cold War spawned by President Roosevelt's expedient alliance with Stalin and other communists brought totalitarian bleakness and death to millions, endless proxy wars that consumed hundreds of billions of dollars and tens of thousands of American and allied lives, and a near-nuclear exchange during President Kennedy's watch.

Yet ugly as they were, each of the wars above eventually made the world a less bloodly place by removing tyrants and transforming cultures. Those same goals drive our war against Middle Eastern extremism that is now centered in Iraq.

In Iraq, 4 percent of our soldiers have been killed or wounded. Those losses are lower than we suffered in nine previous wars. The Civil War, Mexican War, War of Independence, Korean War, WWI, WWII, Vietnam, and Philippine War were all half-again or more as costly as Iraq has been.

[I, Allegra, find this interesting. This guy is very credible, and he's saying that this is costing less than any of the other wars. We are learning about the Mexican War right now in history, and it is not mentioned as being costly. The Mexican War had plenty of protesters, and the Iraqi War will too.]

2006-03-20T16:49:00.000-07:00

The Latest, Greatest Speech!

A life-long city man, tired of the rat race, decided he was going to give up the city life, move to the country, and become a chicken farmer. He bought a nice, used chicken farm and moved in. As it turned out, his next door neighbor was also a chicken farmer. The neighbor came for a visit one day and said, "Chicken farming isn’t easy. Tell you what. To help you get started, I’ll give you 100 chickens."

The new chicken farmer was thrilled. Two weeks later the neighbor dropped by to see how things were going. The new farmer said, "Not too well. All 100 chickens died." The neighbor said, "Oh, I can’t believe that. I’ve never had any trouble with my chickens. I’ll give you 100 more." Another two weeks went by and the neighbor stopped by again. The new farmer said, "You’re not going to believe this, but the second 100 chickens died too." The neighbor asked with perplexity, "What went wrong?" The new farmer said, "Well, I’m not sure whether I’m planting them too deep or too close together."

Dead chickens notwithstanding, I believe the country is the best place to live. This conclusion comes from an intensive but life-long observation of the many moods it can create, as well as the endless opportunities it provides at our home in Falcon, Colorado.

The country is a place where feelings you never knew you had are discovered. The country also allows people to have farm animals that zoning restrictions in town would not permit. Finally, people that live out in the country usually have lots of land and that means dirtbikes and 4-wheelers!

Yes, the country allows all kinds of feelings to be set free. Have you ever driven along a lonely dirt road and seen cattle grazing? It is beyond doubt one of the most peaceful sights you can witness. Or you can sit on your front porch in the cool evening breeze and watch a truly spectacular sunset. No houses block your view, and you feel all alone, yet strangely sheltered. There is a delightful feeling of contentment when you reach the country. There is no hustle and bustle as you walk among the prairie grasses or the freshly-fallen snow. A sort of quiet easily steals your soul.

But country living is by no means without excitement. Saturday finds volunteer firemen donning their uniforms and polishing up the trucks, as farmers go to the feed stores to get their weekly supply of grain and hay. Some folks have old cars that they get out, shine up and drive around. Others start up their motorcycles and go noisily careening along the roads. It is generally a very busy place on Saturdays, and you can almost always see someone you know going about their errands in Falcon.

But errand-running neighbors aren’t the only unusual fauna in the country. We usually spice life up with a few farm animals and other unique creatures not often found in the town. For example, whenever it rains heavily for several days, amphibians are close at hand.

Last year, it was tadpoles in our unused water reserve tank. We caught the tadpoles by climbing down in the tank with a ladder, and after we put them in jars, we sold several. It was not an entirely successful venture. The ones we didn’t sell, we raised for our own. Unfortunately, most of the frogs died after they had developed because we didn’t know how to take care of them.

We’ve also had the chance to learn how to raise, feed and prepare rabbits for food. It was always hard butchering the soft, furry rabbits, but the stew they made was absolutely delicious.

The baby squirrel was so fun to watch, especially when he burrowed. He had the most amazing, complicated tunnels, and you could see his activity so well through the glass of the terrarium. It was a perfect little science project for serious observations. When he was old enough, we let him go back into the wild. He sure was born free! He didn’t even look back!

Besides wild animals such as the ground squirrel and amphibians, we’ve had quite a few animals such as the rabbits previously mentioned plus goats, cows, chickens and even guinea birds (which we used as guard animals, since they are famous for their loud screeching when they are disturbed).

Have you ever wondered how people could butcher chickens? It is a long process that is sad to see. Fortunately for us, we don’t typically become emotionally attached to any of our chickens, and the mean ones aren’t hard to do away with. This comes from having a bad first experience with roosters…

Unfortunately, we had not impressed this lesson sufficiently on our mother, and, on a visit out there, she was pecked so hard that her leg turned a bruised deep blue from the rooster’s harsh attack. A few days later, we wondered where the rooster had gone, but we really enjoyed the fried chicken on Sunday…

Another time we had an 800-pound bull named Joey. Now Joey was a friendly fellow because he had been bottle-fed when he was a calf. He just loved to be around people, even when they were scared of him and didn’t really want to be around him. If our neighbors were working on the house and he wanted to be with them, he would lean on our weak fence until it broke and then go crashing through to join in the fun. Needless to say, we got a few rather anxious phone calls about our bovine pest…

Once after Joey had broken the fence, he was loose, and Dad was fixing the fence so we could imprison him again… (In the four acres designated for his use!) Mom was working on the laundry after putting the kids to bed.

The door was open to let the summer evening air fill the house with its fragrance, and all was quiet. All of the sudden, she heard strange, stomping noises in the living room. Hoping that Dad wasn’t mad after working long and hard the entire day, first at the office then on the fence, she left the laundry room to see what was the matter.

As she came into the dining room, what should she see but a tail sticking out from under the table! Joey had decided to check up on us while he was enjoying his freedom. He really was very fond of our family.

Mom got scared and tried to shoo him out the door, to which Joey responded by carelessly sauntering out the door, past a crystal lamp, which he broke. It gave her new perspective to the phrase, “Like a bull in a china shop”!

Weeell, Joey wasn’t exactly a pet, but he did require lots of what we’ve got in the country—wide open spaces. And that provides us with endless entertainment. We had the opportunity a few years ago to save up enough money in a big jar to buy ourselves a dirtbike. It is a small one, but we have gotten ourselves into remarkable scrapes by riding it.

The first “scrape” occurred not long after we had gotten it… My little brother, Sam, was out puttering around on the dirtbike, trying to go as fast as he could while staying on. As he was turning the corner, he accelerated unconsciously. He lost control of the dirtbike and went roaring through the barbed wire fence between our property and our neighbor’s land. Dad had to go ask our neighbor for our dirtbike back, and Sam has scars on his chest to this day as a reminder that dirtbikes need to be driven with care, especially when you are going around a corner!

She had always been the most daring girl of her family when she was growing up, so she decided to take the dirtbike for a spin. She took our biggest jump, and landed hard on her shoulder, breaking her collar bone. Fortunately, she was wearing a helmet and didn’t hurt her head.

The awesome thing is, even though she really hurt herself and felt rather foolish for being the only one so far to REALLY hurt herself on the dirtbike, the little kids thought she was the most awesome mom anyone could have because she was so audacious. We agree with them, and as a result, we are the most fearless kids of either side of the family.

Now you can hopefully understand a little more the reason for my bias about living in the country. Not only does it provide for awesome opportunities to do fascinating things and have farm animals, but it is extremely exciting, as well as breathtakingly beautiful. You should come out to our house in Falcon, Colorado, and see for yourself. But--of course—you would have to stay long enough to have your own adventures. Then you would really understand.

2006-03-01T20:53:00.000-07:00

Please take my quiz! http://www03.quizyourfriends.com/yourquiz.php?quizname=060301225136-654331&&a=01

2006-02-23T13:32:00.000-07:00

I love these pictures!

HOW TO LIVE LIFE.....

Be Calm... Quiet... Tranquil....

Bloom as often as you can...

Stay close to your Family....

Explore the world around you....

Enjoy the relaxing rhythm of waves...

W A T C H T H E M O O N R I S E....

Spread your wings and take off on your own...

Then enjoy the comfort of coming home again...

Life is short. Take time to enjoy all the little pleasures.

2006-01-26T19:27:00.000-07:00

ABORTION: One Tiny Word, So Much Controversy

This topic is directly related to my other blog, The Health Racquet, because we are talking about Post Abortion Syndrome as well as abstinence programs. But what is the deal? When you hear the word abortion, most people have little red flags that pop up in their heads. But WHY? Because, and I'll give you a simple reason here, it's murder.

You see, when an abortion is committed, the mother typically doesn't know that the thing inside her is actually a living being, and those that are about to perform the murder don't want her to know. So it's murder without consent because the mother doesn't know it's murder. If a woman does know that the thing inside her is actually a child, she becomes attached to him/her because she knows it's her child...and no mother can hate her child.

It breaks my heart when a teenage girl goes in for an abortion because she has made a wrong choice, though. Why does this happen? She's a smart girl, but she made a wrong decision. However, she doesn't know that she was wrong because everyone else is sleeping around, so why shouldn't she do it?

A lot of girls don't know that sleeping around is wrong because their parents have done it before or just don't get involved in their lives like they need to. These girls end up on their own with a baby before too long. But this seemingly hopeless situation can be fixed. Girls can be educated through abstinence programs so they don't discover the heartwrenching effects of post-abortion syndrome and STDs.

One program that we have here in Colorado Springs is called Life Network. If you just go to my other blog (when the article on Team Engage--a part of Life Network gets published!), I have more information on these touchy topics.

2006-01-16T14:21:00.000-07:00

This is a speech I'm planning to perform next Monday, the 23rd. Please, please, PLEASE comment and let me know what you think! I need all the help I can get!

It’s A Wonderful Life!

Country Life from the Perspective of a Country Girl

By Allegra Tschappler

I believe the country is the best place to live. This conclusion comes from a life-long observation of the many moods it can create, as well as the endless opportunities it provides at home in Falcon, Colorado.

As we think about the country, three parts stand out distinctly in my mind that should be delved into. First of all, the country is a place where feelings you never knew you had are discovered. Secondly, the country allows people to have farm animals that zoning restrictions in town would not permit. Third, people that live out in the country usually have lots of land and the opportunity to own a recreational vehicle such as a dirtbike or 4-wheeler.

The country allows all kinds of feelings to be set free. Have you ever driven along a lonely dirt road and seen cattle grazing? It is without a doubt one of the most peaceful sights you can witness. Or you can sit on your front porch in the cool evening breeze and watch a truly spectacular sunset. No houses block your view, and you feel all alone, yet strangely sheltered. There is a delightful feeling of contentment when you reach the country. There is no hustle and bustle as you walk among the prairie grasses or the freshly-fallen snow. A sort of quiet easily steals your soul.

In addition to the country creating various moods, it also provides the opportunity to have farm animals and other unique creatures not often found in the town. For example, whenever it rains heavily for several days, amphibians are close at hand. Last year, it was tadpoles in our water reserve tank. We weren’t using it, so the frogs came and laid eggs in it. We caught the tadpoles by climbing down in the tank with a ladder, and after we put them in jars, we sold several. The ones we didn’t sell, we raised for our own. Unfortunately, most of the frogs died after they had developed because we didn’t know how to take care of them.

We’ve also had the chance to learn how to raise, feed and butcher rabbits. It was always hard butchering the soft, furry rabbits, but the stew they made was absolutely delicious.

If you think that we only kill animals, please think again! We’ve found lizards hiding under rocks. These long, snake-like fellows are a lot of fun to hold, but they prefer the rocks to our hands. Other times we’ve found fully-developed frogs. We would take them inside to show to Mommy, and then let them go again (mostly because of her encouragement—we really wanted to keep them as pets)! The most common reptile around our place that we are able to catch easily and on a regular basis, however, is the horned lizard. This last year, we probably found about twenty or more babies! They are so tiny you could probably hold five in your hand quite comfortably.

We’ve also been able to raise a baby ground squirrel. Those animals are fast, and the only reason we were able to catch him is that he was a baby and our cat got to him first. We rescued the little guy just as he was about to become a kitty meal, and put him in a spare terrarium we had. He was so fun to watch, especially when he burrowed. He had the most amazing, complicated tunnels, and you could see his activity through the glass of the terrarium. He would hide down there when our cat was reminded that he was there, and he would wait until she got fed up and left. When he was old enough, we let him go back into the wild.

Besides wild animals such as the ground squirrel, reptiles and amphibians, we’ve had quite a few animals such as the rabbits previously mentioned, goats, cows, chickens and even guinea birds.

Have you ever wondered how people could butcher chickens? It is a long, smelly and bloody process, and it’s sad to see a favorite animal die. Fortunately for us, we don’t typically become emotionally attached to any of our chickens, and the mean ones aren’t hard to kill. This comes from having a bad first experience with roosters…

Once we raised a batch of 12 or so chickens, with four roosters thrown in. When they grew up, they competed for the hens’ attention and tried to show who was king of the pen. One, who had probably won every battle for dominance, was particularly malicious. I think he lived just to make humans miserable. Whenever we would go out to throw scraps for them, he would try to peck us on our legs. We quickly learned to tread softly and carry a big stick whenever we were taking out the scraps. Unfortunately, our mother hadn’t learned this rule of thumb, and, on a visit out there, was pecked so hard that her leg turned a bruised blue from the rooster’s attack. A few days later, we wondered where the rooster had gone, but we really enjoyed the fried chicken for Sunday dinner…

Another time we had a 250-pound bull named Joey. Now Joey was a friendly fellow because he had been bottle-fed when he was a calf. He just loved to be around people, even when they were scared of him and didn’t really want to be around him. If our neighbors were working on the house and he wanted to be with them, he would lean on our weak fence until it broke and then go crashing through to join in the fun. Needless to say, we got a few rather anxious phone calls about our bovine pest…

Once after Joey had broken the fence, he was loose, and Dad was fixing the fence so we could imprison him again…(in the four acres designated for his use!) Mom was working on the laundry after putting the kids to bed. The door was open to let the summer evening air fill the house with its fragrance, and all was quiet. All of the sudden, she heard stomping noises in the living room. Hoping that Dad wasn’t mad after working long and hard the entire day, first at the office then on the fence, she left the laundry room to see what was the matter. As she came into the dining room, what should she see but a tail sticking out from under the table! Joey had decided to check up on us while he was enjoying his freedom. Mom got scared and tried to shoo him out the door, to which Joey responded by carelessly sauntering out the door, past a crystal lamp, which he broke. It gave her new perspective to the phrase, “Like a bull in a china shop”!

Other farm animals, such as goats, have been quite fun and exciting to own. Our neighbors had two goats they wanted to sell, and I wanted to try milking, so I bought them. When we thought we were ready to handle a baby goat, we bred Peppermint, the female, with a buck in the next county. It was exciting waiting for the new little creature to arrive. One night, we went to a talent show, and when we got home, we went straight to bed. The next morning, Dad told me to go outside and look at Peppermint. There she was, with a brand spanking-new little daughter, who we named Frieda. We started milking Peppermint, and I enjoyed getting to know how to do it. However, we didn’t pasteurize the milk, so it tasted sour every time we tried it. So we let Peppermint dry up, and haven’t tried it since.

The country also provides the opportunity to do things on your property that people in town really couldn’t. Since people in the country usually have lots of land and few restrictions, many buy some sort of recreational vehicle such as 4-wheelers or dirtbikes to get around the property as well as just for fun. We had the opportunity a few years ago to save up enough money in a big jar to buy ourselves a dirtbike. It is a small one, but we have gotten ourselves into remarkable scrapes by riding it.

The first “scrape” occurred not long after we had gotten it… My little brother, Sam, was out puttering around on the dirtbike, trying to go as fast as he could while staying on. As he was turning the corner, he accelerated unconsciously. He lost control of the dirtbike and went through the barbed wire fence between our property and our neighbor’s land. Dad had to go ask our neighbor for our dirtbike back, and Sam has scars on his chest to this day as a reminder that dirtbikes need to be driven with care, especially when you are going around a corner!

Mom was the second victim of the dirtbike’s wiles, but she had it rougher than Sam did (which is saying a lot). Mom had watched Dad take some of our new jumps, and decided that it looked like a lot of fun (which it really is). She had always been the most daring girl of her family when she was growing up, so she decided to take the dirtbike for a spin. She took our biggest jump, and landed on her shoulder, breaking her collar bone. Fortunately, she was wearing a helmet and didn’t hurt her head. The awesome thing is, even though she really hurt herself and felt rather foolish for being the only one so far to REALLY hurt herself on the dirtbike, the little kids thought she was the most awesome mom anyone could have because she was so audacious. We agree with them, and as a result, we are the wildest kids of either side of the family.

After hearing the news that the 200 chickens the neighbor had given the new farmer had all died, he asked with perplexity, "What went wrong?" The new farmer said, "Well, I’m not sure whether I’m planting them too deep or too close together."

2006-01-13T20:53:00.000-07:00

A Movie Star

You know, sometimes I wonder: how amazing are actresses and singers like Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears? There is the moral issues that they apparently have, of faithfulness and modestly, but I believe there are other qualities that they seem to lack, but no one really sees. They are the types of women men desire, but no one seems to be able to point out that the emperor has no clothes: in other words, there's more to a true woman than just cleavage, being on a television screen and lots of ex-husbands.

Those women must be miserable! There is no purpose to their lives except maybe money, fame, and their kids. They are publicized all the time, yet no one sees how much they lack. Girls today want to be like these women because they are popular.

Yet these women struggle more than a lot of us do, just because of public pressure. Not only that, but Satan seems to be rampant in their lives. How sad. When I consider their fate and their current situation, my humble life seems so rich.

However, this is not to address their sad life, but to address the richness of a true woman's life. You might not have been allowed to get that shirt or dress you liked so much, but think how much more precious you are to your husband for your modesty! You might not want to load and unload the dishwasher, mop the floors or vacuum the carpet, yet the fact that you work with your hands is really cool. Your husband will appreciate it, and you have a treasure for him!

You know how to work with your hands like the Proverbs 31 woman. Do you remember what the final verses are? "Many will rise up and call her blessed..." Even if you don't marry, others will surely hail you as a true, godly woman.

I personally struggle with being content: there are so many more exciting things out there in life like going to parties all the time, being with one's friends, having lots of sleepovers, maybe even having a few boyfriends. Yet God consecrates his chosen ones to serve His purpose. And when we see how shallow and futile life's pleasures are, His purpose seems marvellous. He has our ultimate good in mind, and He is much kinder and more loving than ANYONE here on earth.

Girls, we are called to be women of God. That means being modest, faithful, humble, hard-working, patient, etc. But most of all, it means serving Him in whatever way He calls us. Our life may not be as glamorous as the women you see on television, but I can guarantee that it's a lot happier with God in it.

Not only do I think a godly life is happier than your average actress, but I think it is much more exciting. You have a purpose, a reason for the life you are living. The life they are living right now is like a movie that goes on and on without any reason. Our movie is much more exciting. We are doing new and exciting things every day, growing a little more in God every moment.

Your average movie star usually doesn't try to be modest or graceful, patient or humble. They don't need to be, because everyone has to be so towards them. They are the elites.

Yet, a life filled with selfishness is one of the most horrid, empty ones you could live. If you've ever tried to get everyone to do everything for you or even had someone willing to serve you for an entire day, you know what I mean. We are not worthy of having others serve us. Rather, we should serve others.

Don't you get a thrill out of serving someone and they notice? They say thank you in the kindest way, and you feel like you have been Christ to them. It's harder when they aren't thankful and you still serve them, but that is more Christ than when you are recognized.

Those movie stars may be the sole focus of everyone else, but you get to lavish devotion on others. They get to be on the center screen, but you get to be the main actor in your life. And it's a much more worthy movie, I can tell you!

If this posting seems to rant, please forgive me. It's so hard to be articulate when you have so many feelings about the subject!

2005-12-23T10:19:00.000-07:00

Presenting Yourself Faithful

This has got to be the most mushy blog out there! Well, I'm sure there are worse ones, but this is pretty mushy...

I have been reading "When God Writes Your Love Story" by Eric and Leslie Ludy, and I'll tell you what: it has made a big impact on me! There is one chapter in there by Leslie where she shares her thoughts on the Proverbs 31 woman. More specifically, the verse about the woman doing her husband good and not harm ALL THE DAYS of her life. That means that even before they are married, the Proverbs 31 woman is faithful to her husband. But how can you be faithful to someone you probably have never met? It's much easier to get attached to some guy that is here right now and interested in you.

But think about this: your husband will be with you the rest of your life, hopefully, and he will want your entire heart. That's not selfish, it's cool! I mean, he cares so much about you that he wants you as pure as possible. If you store the treasure of your heart in God's hands, He will give you interest so that when you get married, your husband will have an entire blooming garden filled the most amazingly beautiful flowers for himself alone to enjoy.

I struggle with being faithful to my future husband because I am not married to him right now. If I don't know him, probably, how can I be faithful to him? But if you can't be faithful to your husband before you are married, how do you know you will be faithful when you are married? That doesn't mean you have to start, right now, being absolutely perfect in your faithfulness. But it does mean that you should ask God for His wisdom and steadying hand when relating to other guys. You can be friends with them, but save your heart for your husband.

You don't have to be perfectly faithful to your husband right now, but you should be practicing. It will be worth it. Your husband will appreciate what you've done for him, because you will be unique. In this age and time, it's nothing to give your heart to every guy that comes along that's interested in you. I mean, it is painful, but common. So save yourself. You will be a true treasure to your husband, and you will not have experienced so many heartaches.

If any guys are reading this right now, they are probably wishing they weren't. It's frightening what girls think, isn't it? But you guys are to be faithful as well. God has a special young lady out there, just waiting for you. You should respect other girls but save your attentions for your wife. If she could see you right now, would she feel honored? What if she's trying to be faithful to you, while you are out running around with other girls? Do you want to protect or hurt her? I hope you want to protect this very special young lady!

For everyone reading this, though, I would encourage you to look to Christ first. He created love so we could love Him. He created our desire for companionship, and He created our future spouse. But think about this: what if you never marry in this lifetime? Do you think God would appreciate it if you save your entire heart for Him? I think so! I am content with being single if that's what God has for me, because He IS the perfect lover. And some day we will be with Him forever! I can't wait!

2005-12-10T17:24:00.000-07:00

What Is This Big Fuss About? Part I

Why these problems with music? Why does everyone argue over music? Or worse yet, not even touch the issue because they know they'll get burned? I'm not claiming to have the answers because I haven't listened to all the genres out there, and I personally am not a fan of much music that my peers like. But I still believe there is an issue to be discussed.

Some people claim that music today is the devil's own music. Is that REALLY true? Have we allowed Satan complete control over the music industry? I think not! I don't think Satan has complete control over anyone or anything until that person gets to hell. And I don't think God is going to let Satan take control of anything here on earth. It is true that he is lord of this world, but God is ultimately in control (take a look at Job). But we aren't discussing Satan...are we?

I set before you this opinion: classical music is not any more "good" than 21st Century contemporary music. I mean, classical was contemporary for a lot of people! But the composers were just as much sinners as those who write music today. Sure, classical music appeals to some people more than others, but it doesn't mean that those who prefer it, or those that don't, are necessarily wrong. I mean, who is saying you have the only right choices?

2005-12-01T17:25:00.000-07:00

My dear friends, Tomorrow is going to be busy for us. Mom, Lydia, Esther, Sam, Ben and I are all going up to Parker, CO for a round robin. It will probably go on for 14 hours. If you would, please pray for Lydia and I. We are going to debate four rounds. It is only our second time, so we are rather stressed. Mom is judging (which she says is even harder than debating), and Esther is timing for the first time. We are all excited, but nervous. Like I said before, your prayers would be greatly appreciated.