Just this morning I decided that this week I'm going to stay off of the internet.
Lately it's become too addicting and I've been losing other time because of all the time I spend online.
Also, my quiet times have gone way out of whack because I get up and my immediate action is to go online.
This needs to change.
The Three things I'm asking prayer for are:
1. That I'd grow in my faith this week, spending more time with God rather than with people I don't really even know.
2. That I'd learn to live away from the internet, and that it'd become just an activity like reading, not an all-afternoon activity.
3. That I'd have self control and strength against temptation, especially that of the internet.
So I won't be around for a week, but I pray it will be a fruitful week. (This week will be from Sunday, September 30th - Sunday, October 7th).
And when I get back, I'll probably change my blog name, this week will give people time to find out.
Over'n'out
Kilo-Yankee.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Thursday, September 27, 2007
The Beginning of the Weekend
I'm thinking about changing my blog name again... I think I had an okay idea, but not sure what everyone else would think of it: drum of a different beat.
Dancing to the drum of a different beat would get too long, I think.
Why would I change it to that? Because I'm trying to dance to a different drum than the rest of the world.
Thursday: Irish dance on Wednesday was good. I got really worn out, though, but wanted to keep going, it was so much fun. But God reminded me of something. I don't think any of the other girls in the class are Christians, and with a few of them you can really tell. God reminded me to step out of my comfort zone, no matter HOW HARD that would be in the middle of a dance class, and just start by starting a conversation with them sometime. He also reminded me that my neighbor (now 12) wanted to go to youth group. So today before Oasis I'm going to go over there and see if she wants to come.
The roster for Submerge (Youth group/Oasis/H20 praise band) is out for the fall. I'm up on acoustic guitar for the whole month of November... with only one practice. Yikes. At least I have a practice, but I'm still going to be really really nervous at first. I'll survive... hopefully without any complete and utter humiliation...
Today we did Irish dance again, but with the C's, because they have a private class. I think I'd rather do that one, because I learned a LOT more and got a lot more exercise. Plus, Nate and Candace can do it, too.
I got 26 1/2 out of 29 on my first Logic test, and mommy hasn't corrected my chemistry test yet.. I think I did pretty well, though. (later - I did better than last time, but still not great.)
We've been enjoying JellyBellys the H's brought back for us for watching Oreo. I love JellyBellys...
Oasis was okay... Karin wasn't able to come. :( the talk was good, though (I'll have my notes up soon!) and the game was pretty good, in worship the music was waaay too loud, though.
Friday: another start to a busy weekend. Blech. This is basically the first time I've gotten to myself today, apart from reading after Church, but that wasn't what I really wanted to be doing then. *sigh* And tomorrow I at least have to make granola, if not sweep and wash the floors, too. I don't mind making granola... I just HATE doing the floors because it takes up to two hours to do it.
Bananabint is still questioning the Rebelution and why I like it so much, so I decided to post some more links that I forgot to do before... probably my 2 favorite series(es?), one by Brett and one by Alex.
The Myth of Adolescence:
Part One
Part Two
My iPod is my Best Friend
A Shining Salty City on A Stand
"Rebelize" Your Youth Group
Rebellion VS Rebelution
Feats of Our Forefathers
Character:
Challenges of the 21st Century
Building Your Character House
Meet Your Commander n'Chief
The Bible or the Bullet
A final thing I really liked was the audio previews from the conferences. You can listen to them here and here. The second is by Brett, the first from Alex. Personally, I love Brett's impressions... but he's got a good point. And since listening to that, I've stopped saying all the "I'm just not a.... person." "I'm just not a math person" used to turn up every day. When you think about it, it's true, though, if we try hard enough to do the hard thing and really strive to do the math, we may not end up "not being a math person."
Anyway. Not much has been going on around here, yet at the same time it seems that EVERYTHING has been, if you take my meaning.
I read a book called Navajo Weapon recently, about how the Navajos created a code we used during WWII - an unbreakable code.
I decided that since I still have nothing to do I'd go ahead and post my Oasis notes now...
That was week one, last week. And I got to read the WHOLE family tree aloud at WellGroup. It was fun, though.
Dancing to the drum of a different beat would get too long, I think.
Why would I change it to that? Because I'm trying to dance to a different drum than the rest of the world.
Thursday: Irish dance on Wednesday was good. I got really worn out, though, but wanted to keep going, it was so much fun. But God reminded me of something. I don't think any of the other girls in the class are Christians, and with a few of them you can really tell. God reminded me to step out of my comfort zone, no matter HOW HARD that would be in the middle of a dance class, and just start by starting a conversation with them sometime. He also reminded me that my neighbor (now 12) wanted to go to youth group. So today before Oasis I'm going to go over there and see if she wants to come.
The roster for Submerge (Youth group/Oasis/H20 praise band) is out for the fall. I'm up on acoustic guitar for the whole month of November... with only one practice. Yikes. At least I have a practice, but I'm still going to be really really nervous at first. I'll survive... hopefully without any complete and utter humiliation...
Today we did Irish dance again, but with the C's, because they have a private class. I think I'd rather do that one, because I learned a LOT more and got a lot more exercise. Plus, Nate and Candace can do it, too.
I got 26 1/2 out of 29 on my first Logic test, and mommy hasn't corrected my chemistry test yet.. I think I did pretty well, though. (later - I did better than last time, but still not great.)
We've been enjoying JellyBellys the H's brought back for us for watching Oreo. I love JellyBellys...
Oasis was okay... Karin wasn't able to come. :( the talk was good, though (I'll have my notes up soon!) and the game was pretty good, in worship the music was waaay too loud, though.
Friday: another start to a busy weekend. Blech. This is basically the first time I've gotten to myself today, apart from reading after Church, but that wasn't what I really wanted to be doing then. *sigh* And tomorrow I at least have to make granola, if not sweep and wash the floors, too. I don't mind making granola... I just HATE doing the floors because it takes up to two hours to do it.
Bananabint is still questioning the Rebelution and why I like it so much, so I decided to post some more links that I forgot to do before... probably my 2 favorite series(es?), one by Brett and one by Alex.
The Myth of Adolescence:
Part One
Part Two
My iPod is my Best Friend
A Shining Salty City on A Stand
"Rebelize" Your Youth Group
Rebellion VS Rebelution
Feats of Our Forefathers
Character:
Challenges of the 21st Century
Building Your Character House
Meet Your Commander n'Chief
The Bible or the Bullet
A final thing I really liked was the audio previews from the conferences. You can listen to them here and here. The second is by Brett, the first from Alex. Personally, I love Brett's impressions... but he's got a good point. And since listening to that, I've stopped saying all the "I'm just not a.... person." "I'm just not a math person" used to turn up every day. When you think about it, it's true, though, if we try hard enough to do the hard thing and really strive to do the math, we may not end up "not being a math person."
Anyway. Not much has been going on around here, yet at the same time it seems that EVERYTHING has been, if you take my meaning.
I read a book called Navajo Weapon recently, about how the Navajos created a code we used during WWII - an unbreakable code.
I decided that since I still have nothing to do I'd go ahead and post my Oasis notes now...
Pause: Week One
Text: Luke 3:21-28 (you can read it here)
Big Idea: At the moment of temptation, let's learn to pause and remember there's always more at stake.
An observation on Temptation:
They are painfully addictive things. Why? We come back and cave in again and again. It's a pattern: tempation, sin, guilt, temptation... It's like this because we are seriously sinful wicked people.
We don't need a system to solve our problems, we need a savior. Someone to come along and clean off the mud, get us out of the loop. With a system we just fail ourselves.
Big Question: Is Jesus our rescuer?
Observations:
1. Jesus was baptized, associating himself with sinful men.
2. Jesus was declared to be the Son of God, by God himself.
3. Luke shows us Jesus' family tree... a picture of God's rescue plan, Jesus is the answer to Adam's problem, where Adam failed, Jesus will SUCCEED and live up to His name to be a Savior.
God doesn't give us what we deserve because he loves us.
That was week one, last week. And I got to read the WHOLE family tree aloud at WellGroup. It was fun, though.
Pause: Week 2So yeah. That sums up my weekend so far. Tell me what you think of it all.
Text: Luke 4:1-4. You can read it here
Big Idea: At the moment of temptation, let's learn to pause and remember there's always more at stake.
Another observation:
Tempation is global. It's not a social or religious problem. It's not just you.
Big question: what can we do about it?
Fight temptations with the TRUTH. Quote scripture as an answer for every temptation - it is THE TRUTH. Turn on the light to deflect the darkness, don't accept it, because behind every temptation there is a lie. The devil destracts us from God. It leaves us empty inside, like the Turkish Delight left Edmund yearning for more - it's an empty illusion. Fill up with Jesus.
The First Temptation: Turn stone into bread.
Why is this a temptation?
We live because the very word of God says so. At the heart of this temptation is the question "Can God be trusted?" The devil makes God seem small. How can we look in the face of our Provider and say we can't trust Him? Your next heartbeat, your next breath, are a gift from God. Don't just know it, believe it. God's best will be poured into our lives if we wait.
How big is the God we serve?
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Rebelution Links
The promised links:
A Challenge for My Generation (mentioned earlier...)
My First Shower Nearly Killed Me (also mentioned earlier)
Doing Less By Doing More
The Room (by Joshua Harris, the twin's older brother... this article/story is one of my all-time favorites).
Why Teens Do Stupid Things
Bored? Read This!
Stop Wasting Time
Those are just the ones I can pull up easily. From time to time I'll probably link to something on someone else's blog, trusting that you *cough*bananabint*cough* will go there...
Over'n'out
Kilo-Yankee
A Challenge for My Generation (mentioned earlier...)
My First Shower Nearly Killed Me (also mentioned earlier)
Doing Less By Doing More
The Room (by Joshua Harris, the twin's older brother... this article/story is one of my all-time favorites).
Why Teens Do Stupid Things
Bored? Read This!
Stop Wasting Time
Those are just the ones I can pull up easily. From time to time I'll probably link to something on someone else's blog, trusting that you *cough*bananabint*cough* will go there...
Over'n'out
Kilo-Yankee
Another Post.
I know I just made a post the other day (was it yesterday? I can't really remember...) and nothing much has happened since then, but spontaneous posts are sometimes the best ones around.
Yesterday I was bored, so I decided to go ALL the way back to the first page of the Rebelution blog (found out there's 70 pages... if you want to go ALL the way back, just ask me for the link to that page, otherwise you'll lose about 30 minutes of time just going back), and start reading all of what the Harris twins had written, because I knew I'd missed a LOT of good articles before I started reading the blog. So I went all the way back and yesterday read the first page.
Early on, Brett had posted an article about what the Rebelution was. You can read the whole article here, and I highly reccomend that you do, but there was one part that really stood out to me, and I thought I'd quote it here... it was a good reminder to me that I needed to get out there and light my candle, not just accept the darkness:
"Should a candle set in a dark room assume that darkness is his fate? Would it be acceptable for the candle to make peace with the darkness? Not when he holds the potential for glorious light!"
I continued on a little ways and saw a favorite post of mine, again by Brett, called "My First Shower Nearly Killed Me."
It got me thinking more than usual, but in a different way than usual (usually I'll end up going off and yelling at myself whenever I struggle with Chemistry or Geometry or Algebra and think "I'm just not a math person.").
This time I thought about what the "showers" in my life were. Going through a list, I realized that there aren't that many every day things I'm scared of or don't like... until I came upon needles. Don't get me wrong - I LOVE sewing. But as soon as I hear "blood test" or "shot" I start freaking out. With a shot it's usually okay. I close my eyes and brace myself for it, and it's over.
Blood tests, however, are different. The first time I got my blood drawn (well, that I remember...), I was somewhere between 5 and 8. I started hyperventilating and not letting them put that needle into my arm... I remember starting to feel sick. Mommy convinced me to let them do it, and when they finished I felt like I was going to faint. The good part was I got juice, crackers, and 2 suckers when I finished.
I know it's not really what Brett's first shower was like, and to this day I still hyperventilate when I get my blood drawn, but I think now it's more of "fear of something unnatural inside of me" rather than aichmophobia (fear of needles).
And yes, I did just look that word up.
And I found another phobia I have: Didaskaleinophobia, fear of going to school.
And sometimes I kind of have this: Dromophobia, fear of crossing streets.... especially in Jordan or New York.
Some of these phobias crack me up... like fear of work or fear of handwriting.
This has got to be my favorite, though: Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia- Fear of long words. Such a contradiction.
Arachibutyrophobia- Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth. <-- that's good, though.
And just a warning, in the near future I'll probably be talking about the Rebelution a lot, so if you don't know what it is, I suggest you go over there...
We've been calling around more about oboe reeds (yes, me on a phone... yikes... I made it through a phone message without any "ums" today... be proud of me!), and can only find them in medium. We may have to order some. Hmph.
Oh, and I finished the main part of writing my book! *dances* I want to make it a bit longer, though, but if I can't think of any way to do that, I won't, I'd rather have a good, short book than a boring, long one.
Over'n'out
Kilo-Yankee-Lima-Echo-India-Golf-Hotel.
Yesterday I was bored, so I decided to go ALL the way back to the first page of the Rebelution blog (found out there's 70 pages... if you want to go ALL the way back, just ask me for the link to that page, otherwise you'll lose about 30 minutes of time just going back), and start reading all of what the Harris twins had written, because I knew I'd missed a LOT of good articles before I started reading the blog. So I went all the way back and yesterday read the first page.
Early on, Brett had posted an article about what the Rebelution was. You can read the whole article here, and I highly reccomend that you do, but there was one part that really stood out to me, and I thought I'd quote it here... it was a good reminder to me that I needed to get out there and light my candle, not just accept the darkness:
"Should a candle set in a dark room assume that darkness is his fate? Would it be acceptable for the candle to make peace with the darkness? Not when he holds the potential for glorious light!"
I continued on a little ways and saw a favorite post of mine, again by Brett, called "My First Shower Nearly Killed Me."
It got me thinking more than usual, but in a different way than usual (usually I'll end up going off and yelling at myself whenever I struggle with Chemistry or Geometry or Algebra and think "I'm just not a math person.").
This time I thought about what the "showers" in my life were. Going through a list, I realized that there aren't that many every day things I'm scared of or don't like... until I came upon needles. Don't get me wrong - I LOVE sewing. But as soon as I hear "blood test" or "shot" I start freaking out. With a shot it's usually okay. I close my eyes and brace myself for it, and it's over.
Blood tests, however, are different. The first time I got my blood drawn (well, that I remember...), I was somewhere between 5 and 8. I started hyperventilating and not letting them put that needle into my arm... I remember starting to feel sick. Mommy convinced me to let them do it, and when they finished I felt like I was going to faint. The good part was I got juice, crackers, and 2 suckers when I finished.
I know it's not really what Brett's first shower was like, and to this day I still hyperventilate when I get my blood drawn, but I think now it's more of "fear of something unnatural inside of me" rather than aichmophobia (fear of needles).
And yes, I did just look that word up.
And I found another phobia I have: Didaskaleinophobia, fear of going to school.
And sometimes I kind of have this: Dromophobia, fear of crossing streets.... especially in Jordan or New York.
Some of these phobias crack me up... like fear of work or fear of handwriting.
This has got to be my favorite, though: Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia- Fear of long words. Such a contradiction.
Arachibutyrophobia- Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth. <-- that's good, though.
And just a warning, in the near future I'll probably be talking about the Rebelution a lot, so if you don't know what it is, I suggest you go over there...
We've been calling around more about oboe reeds (yes, me on a phone... yikes... I made it through a phone message without any "ums" today... be proud of me!), and can only find them in medium. We may have to order some. Hmph.
Oh, and I finished the main part of writing my book! *dances* I want to make it a bit longer, though, but if I can't think of any way to do that, I won't, I'd rather have a good, short book than a boring, long one.
Over'n'out
Kilo-Yankee-Lima-Echo-India-Golf-Hotel.
Monday, September 24, 2007
An Update on more than my weekend.
Today on the Rebelution Alex and Brett posted a really good video... in the video I thought Alex's t-shirt looks rather interesting, so I looked it up. You can look at it here
I want to get it, not that I'd wear it in public here, but it'd be one I'd wear around sometimes.
Speaking of the video, you can watch it here. The end gets pretty funny, and the whole report is pretty neat. Before too long I'm gonna be down on my knees begging them to come to the Middle East. :P I guess we are trying to get them out here for Desert Challenge sometime. 'Cuz that would make DC even more awesome than usual.
Nothing much has been going on around here. I wrote a lot this afternoon, my story is drawing to an end, and I'm starting to get really excited about it being done. Then it's only editing and finding a publisher... yeah, right... like any publisher will ever take my story. At least not a good one like RandomHouse, Puffin, or Houghton Mifflin. People are gonna yell at me, I killed off another character. But hey, it makes the end work!
I think Chemistry may be getting better, I at least really like experiments, whether or not I like the rest of it. Geometry is still rather easy, proofs can be a bit annoying, though. Literature is great, I'm having a bit of trouble with the clincher in my paper, but other than that it's goin' well. Bible and History are fine for now, I have a history test coming up in a few weeks, though, and then it's study for that whole week and get the test overwith before another one comes along that I have to study for again. :P I've got a Logic test on Thursday, should be easy enough.
We've watched some good movies lately, the first being A Vow to Cherish, which is a movie about a family in which the wife gets alzheimers disease, and it basically just goes through all their struggles together. I know I mentioned it earlier but felt like doing so again.
The Nativity Story was also good, we enjoyed that one as a family. I thought they did an especially good job with Joseph and Mary, often I forget Mary was a girl not much older than me and never thought about what it would have been like for her to go through.
Godspell was the last one, and although I thought parts were a bit strange, it was powerful, and Cait and I have been singing Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord a lot.
I helped Candace with violin today. I don't officially play myself, but teach myself from her books, so know enough to help her. I felt like a teacher. :P
Re-posting something I posted on my Xanga (I have one because I have some friends who are on Xanga and don't really care for blogger that much, so I just post the same posts here and there)... Jessica had a question of the week thingamagigg and I replied and liked my answer:
Still no news from David about the wedding, I hope it went well!
WellGroup went well, we have a HUGE group this year... I'm one of the oldest this year, but only 3 are shorter than me, and one of those is moving soon. :(
I finished Children of Hurin, the ending was a bit sad and depressing and Turin makes me rather mad most of the time, but Tolkien's style and other elements of his writing make it worth it.
Over'n'out
Kilo-Yankee.
I want to get it, not that I'd wear it in public here, but it'd be one I'd wear around sometimes.
Speaking of the video, you can watch it here. The end gets pretty funny, and the whole report is pretty neat. Before too long I'm gonna be down on my knees begging them to come to the Middle East. :P I guess we are trying to get them out here for Desert Challenge sometime. 'Cuz that would make DC even more awesome than usual.
Nothing much has been going on around here. I wrote a lot this afternoon, my story is drawing to an end, and I'm starting to get really excited about it being done. Then it's only editing and finding a publisher... yeah, right... like any publisher will ever take my story. At least not a good one like RandomHouse, Puffin, or Houghton Mifflin. People are gonna yell at me, I killed off another character. But hey, it makes the end work!
I think Chemistry may be getting better, I at least really like experiments, whether or not I like the rest of it. Geometry is still rather easy, proofs can be a bit annoying, though. Literature is great, I'm having a bit of trouble with the clincher in my paper, but other than that it's goin' well. Bible and History are fine for now, I have a history test coming up in a few weeks, though, and then it's study for that whole week and get the test overwith before another one comes along that I have to study for again. :P I've got a Logic test on Thursday, should be easy enough.
We've watched some good movies lately, the first being A Vow to Cherish, which is a movie about a family in which the wife gets alzheimers disease, and it basically just goes through all their struggles together. I know I mentioned it earlier but felt like doing so again.
The Nativity Story was also good, we enjoyed that one as a family. I thought they did an especially good job with Joseph and Mary, often I forget Mary was a girl not much older than me and never thought about what it would have been like for her to go through.
Godspell was the last one, and although I thought parts were a bit strange, it was powerful, and Cait and I have been singing Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord a lot.
I helped Candace with violin today. I don't officially play myself, but teach myself from her books, so know enough to help her. I felt like a teacher. :P
Re-posting something I posted on my Xanga (I have one because I have some friends who are on Xanga and don't really care for blogger that much, so I just post the same posts here and there)... Jessica had a question of the week thingamagigg and I replied and liked my answer:
I think a lot of people have a low opinion about themselves. We see ourselves as lower than we probably are because I think we see the good in others and most often we see is the bad in us... I know I've found that with myself. There are some things that I'm better than a few people I know at, but I'm not amazing at anything.
But if I were to define myself... I don't really fit any categories, I love sports, but I would never go so far as to call myself a jock, I'm a bit of a nerd compared to some, but not enough that I'd introduce myself like that... I guess... If I were to define myself, I'd say I'm Ky, I'm me. I'm someone trying to become who God wants me to be, whoever that may be. I want to serve Him in any way I can.
I want to go against low expectations put on teenagers, I want to be able to think well, not just quickly. I want to make a difference somehow.
Still no news from David about the wedding, I hope it went well!
WellGroup went well, we have a HUGE group this year... I'm one of the oldest this year, but only 3 are shorter than me, and one of those is moving soon. :(
I finished Children of Hurin, the ending was a bit sad and depressing and Turin makes me rather mad most of the time, but Tolkien's style and other elements of his writing make it worth it.
Over'n'out
Kilo-Yankee.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
A busy weekend.
This weekend was busy... too busy. I had no time to do anything I wanted to do except read a few chapters of the Children of Hurin (great book...). Friday after Church we went out to Abu Dhabi to get some things for our conference over Eid (only a few more weeks! Wha-whoo!!!), and were out there for a while. When we came back we went to Sarah P's birthday party (that was fun, but it went later than I expected and so we got back really late - also dad couldn't pick us up until later cuz he was out visiting).
Saturday the C's came over for Brunch - meaning I couldn't sleep in, whenever we have guests for breakfast I make the fruit salad, which takes a while as we have fresh pineapple in it. Then the R kids came over and after dinner I FINALLY got some stuff done.
Today is our first Well Group, Thursday was the first real Oasis night, I think we're off to a good start this year, we began and ended on time (wow... and the bus was only 5 minutes late... it's usually 20+ minutes late), JW's talk was good, and our book for this year is good so far, too. It's called Pause, and it's on temptation, mostly from Luke, when Jesus is tempted.
We had a vote on whether we should name their baby on the way Luke Ryan Welk*** or Luke Sky Welk*** I didn't put their full last name for security, but it sounds a bit like Skywalker... JW likes Star Wars a bit too much...
So also today, what I'm really happy and sad about is that it's David's wedding... but it's in Salzburg, Austria, so I can't go. :( David was an intern here a year ago, and he c0-led the Orange team - which I was on, best youth group team in the whole world and also helped me a lot with my volleyball.
Yeah... happy wedding day, David!
Oh, and I felt like posting my desktop screenshot.
Click to make it bigger.
*sniffles* Them words are lyrics from a song written to commemorate the Columbia space shuttle explosion February 1, 2003. You can listen to the song here
Over'n'out
Kilo-Yankee.
Saturday the C's came over for Brunch - meaning I couldn't sleep in, whenever we have guests for breakfast I make the fruit salad, which takes a while as we have fresh pineapple in it. Then the R kids came over and after dinner I FINALLY got some stuff done.
Today is our first Well Group, Thursday was the first real Oasis night, I think we're off to a good start this year, we began and ended on time (wow... and the bus was only 5 minutes late... it's usually 20+ minutes late), JW's talk was good, and our book for this year is good so far, too. It's called Pause, and it's on temptation, mostly from Luke, when Jesus is tempted.
We had a vote on whether we should name their baby on the way Luke Ryan Welk*** or Luke Sky Welk*** I didn't put their full last name for security, but it sounds a bit like Skywalker... JW likes Star Wars a bit too much...
So also today, what I'm really happy and sad about is that it's David's wedding... but it's in Salzburg, Austria, so I can't go. :( David was an intern here a year ago, and he c0-led the Orange team - which I was on, best youth group team in the whole world and also helped me a lot with my volleyball.
Yeah... happy wedding day, David!
Oh, and I felt like posting my desktop screenshot.
Click to make it bigger.*sniffles* Them words are lyrics from a song written to commemorate the Columbia space shuttle explosion February 1, 2003. You can listen to the song here
Over'n'out
Kilo-Yankee.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Irish dance!
So today I went to an Irish dance class, fencing was becoming boring and I wasn't getting anywhere.
One Irish dance class and I've already gotten somewhere. :P
The good news was there was another girl there just starting, and since it was a higher up class (the lower ones were all little kids...), it was nice to have another beginner there. I already knew a few steps and stuff from my cousin, so I didn't learn anything new, er, any new steps, I did learn a few technique things, like always making sure your ankles are crossed, making sure I don't turn out, etc... stuff like that.
I think I'm going to keep up with it... I hope so, I had lots of fun today.
Ky
One Irish dance class and I've already gotten somewhere. :P
The good news was there was another girl there just starting, and since it was a higher up class (the lower ones were all little kids...), it was nice to have another beginner there. I already knew a few steps and stuff from my cousin, so I didn't learn anything new, er, any new steps, I did learn a few technique things, like always making sure your ankles are crossed, making sure I don't turn out, etc... stuff like that.
I think I'm going to keep up with it... I hope so, I had lots of fun today.
Ky
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Gardening.
Today I decided to do some gardening. I forgot to take a picture before I got started, but this is what the backyard looks like, and the front looked a good deal like that before I got started.
Just a mixture of sand, rocks, leaves, and roots.
I spent about 2 hours out there, clearing away the rocks and leaves, then flattening it out and spreading soil on it, then making it look nice.
I think it looks rather pretty, don't you? I still haven't planted flowers, it's a good deal too hot to do that yet. (102F today... I still decided to go outside and do it, putting on sunscreen).
If you've worked around sand, you'll know what it does to you... so this is what my arms looked like when I was done:
And my face:
There's sand between my eyebrows... and I'm sunburnt... and my glasses are off because I got sand on them and my hands were to dirty to get them cleaned.
I was gonna say something else, but now I can't remember.
We watched a movie tonight. "A Vow To Cherish." Very sad... all of us were crying, then we were talking about my grampa, who had Alzheimers before he died.
I started reading The Children of Hurin this afternoon. It's sooo good so far, and Alan Lee's illustrations are absolutely stunning. If only I could draw like that.
Oh, now I remember. Apart from my own schoolwork I've started helping Nate and Candace some every day. I did spelling with them a few days ago, and today I helped them with their science project, one I'd done a long time ago.
And chemistry has become plain out evil. It's just making the world more complicated. Okay, so converting measurements was useful, but all these formulas for heat and energy... if anyone can tell me the point of chemistry. please, please do!
Oops, just remembered, I have a geometry test I need to review for... should go before it gets too late.
Ky
Just a mixture of sand, rocks, leaves, and roots.
I spent about 2 hours out there, clearing away the rocks and leaves, then flattening it out and spreading soil on it, then making it look nice.
I think it looks rather pretty, don't you? I still haven't planted flowers, it's a good deal too hot to do that yet. (102F today... I still decided to go outside and do it, putting on sunscreen).
If you've worked around sand, you'll know what it does to you... so this is what my arms looked like when I was done:
And my face:
There's sand between my eyebrows... and I'm sunburnt... and my glasses are off because I got sand on them and my hands were to dirty to get them cleaned.
I was gonna say something else, but now I can't remember.
We watched a movie tonight. "A Vow To Cherish." Very sad... all of us were crying, then we were talking about my grampa, who had Alzheimers before he died.
I started reading The Children of Hurin this afternoon. It's sooo good so far, and Alan Lee's illustrations are absolutely stunning. If only I could draw like that.
Oh, now I remember. Apart from my own schoolwork I've started helping Nate and Candace some every day. I did spelling with them a few days ago, and today I helped them with their science project, one I'd done a long time ago.
And chemistry has become plain out evil. It's just making the world more complicated. Okay, so converting measurements was useful, but all these formulas for heat and energy... if anyone can tell me the point of chemistry. please, please do!
Oops, just remembered, I have a geometry test I need to review for... should go before it gets too late.
Ky
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Music, Microwaves, and Ramadan.
I recorded me playing Pachelbel's Canon on my guitar today... quite a few little mistakes and pauses, and you can hear Eeyore barking once or twice, but I decided to keep it anyway. I added a Bass Boost after recording it, because if I plug into my amplifier I add that and it sounds a lot better.
Originally I was trying to record it with harmonies, but it didn't work because it's in tablature so I don't have specific rhythm.
Here's the Link:
http://www.mediafire.com/?bqd1zuvd5c6
And so this doesn't become a useless little post, I'll add a few things I wanted to add yesterday, but forgot.
Our microwave broke. It's not too bad without it, just more pots and pans to wash later on, and it means no zatar for a few days because all our pita bread is frozen. That's the worst part of it, I love having zatar (zatar is a bunch of herbs, like thyme, with sesame seeds mixed in. You dip pita bread in olive oil, then in the zatar, then eat it. It's really good. I also like putting spreadable cheese on the bread and sprinkling zatar on).
And it's Ramadan here. *sigh* Not too much of a pain, since we live in a walled compound, but even still we can't eat or drink outside from sunrise til sunset. It'll be over soon, though, and with the end of Ramadan comes Eid and our conference in Oman. Hurrah! I can't wait, last year was lots of fun, 'course, people have gone and new people have come, so it'll be different, but still...
Ky
Originally I was trying to record it with harmonies, but it didn't work because it's in tablature so I don't have specific rhythm.
Here's the Link:
http://www.mediafire.com/?bqd1zuvd5c6
And so this doesn't become a useless little post, I'll add a few things I wanted to add yesterday, but forgot.
Our microwave broke. It's not too bad without it, just more pots and pans to wash later on, and it means no zatar for a few days because all our pita bread is frozen. That's the worst part of it, I love having zatar (zatar is a bunch of herbs, like thyme, with sesame seeds mixed in. You dip pita bread in olive oil, then in the zatar, then eat it. It's really good. I also like putting spreadable cheese on the bread and sprinkling zatar on).
And it's Ramadan here. *sigh* Not too much of a pain, since we live in a walled compound, but even still we can't eat or drink outside from sunrise til sunset. It'll be over soon, though, and with the end of Ramadan comes Eid and our conference in Oman. Hurrah! I can't wait, last year was lots of fun, 'course, people have gone and new people have come, so it'll be different, but still...
Ky
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Sarah's Birthday Party
Yay... hurrah!
My parents usually don't let me do sleepovers, but they did this once for various reasons. But they let me this time, for Sarah H (Jellybelly)'s birthday party. We had a few random things like last year... when we decided that sheep meow. This time we made fossilized Eskimo ruins out of Sculpey clay... heheh... and decided a whole bunch of random facts about Eskimos... like they loved the colors hot pink and orange, kind of worshipped porcupines, and made iridescent cookies.
Before Hannah left for the night we watched Court Jester, a really old "classic" comedy... parts of it were REALLY funny, others were kind of stupid. It was good, though. In the middle of it our older siblings came back from praise band practice (I was supposed to go but decided not to that week because of the birthday party) and tried to scare us.
We went to bed around midnight, and fell asleep pretty quickly... after talking about how I (being in the middle of Sarah and Caroline) would get rolled all over during the night. We decided to get up around 8, and then lay in our sleeping bags for a while, talking and Sarah was trying to tickle me. I'm not very ticklish so it didn't go so well on her end. Then we were going way down in our sleeping bags and hiding from Oreo, the H's dogs. Hannah came back and we ate breakfast, then did some more with Sculpey clay before Caroline left. Then we played Pit (fun game!) until mom picked me up and we left.
It was fun... lots of goofing around being hyper, especially during dinner.
Then I'm really happy for 3 reasons:
1. Daddy and I are going out for coffee later.
2. I'm going to an Irish dance class on Wednesday, to see if I like it... fencing hasn't been as fun anymore, don't really know why.
3. The H's have an oboe nobody uses... and some books. Which means I can teach myself if I can't find a teacher.
Wheee.... I'm happy right now.
Ky
My parents usually don't let me do sleepovers, but they did this once for various reasons. But they let me this time, for Sarah H (Jellybelly)'s birthday party. We had a few random things like last year... when we decided that sheep meow. This time we made fossilized Eskimo ruins out of Sculpey clay... heheh... and decided a whole bunch of random facts about Eskimos... like they loved the colors hot pink and orange, kind of worshipped porcupines, and made iridescent cookies.
Before Hannah left for the night we watched Court Jester, a really old "classic" comedy... parts of it were REALLY funny, others were kind of stupid. It was good, though. In the middle of it our older siblings came back from praise band practice (I was supposed to go but decided not to that week because of the birthday party) and tried to scare us.
We went to bed around midnight, and fell asleep pretty quickly... after talking about how I (being in the middle of Sarah and Caroline) would get rolled all over during the night. We decided to get up around 8, and then lay in our sleeping bags for a while, talking and Sarah was trying to tickle me. I'm not very ticklish so it didn't go so well on her end. Then we were going way down in our sleeping bags and hiding from Oreo, the H's dogs. Hannah came back and we ate breakfast, then did some more with Sculpey clay before Caroline left. Then we played Pit (fun game!) until mom picked me up and we left.
It was fun... lots of goofing around being hyper, especially during dinner.
Then I'm really happy for 3 reasons:
1. Daddy and I are going out for coffee later.
2. I'm going to an Irish dance class on Wednesday, to see if I like it... fencing hasn't been as fun anymore, don't really know why.
3. The H's have an oboe nobody uses... and some books. Which means I can teach myself if I can't find a teacher.
Wheee.... I'm happy right now.
Ky
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Time, Greek Fire, The Battle of Vienna, Remembrance.
I thought I'd do a post with lots of stuff in it, some interesting some not, I think it's all interesting... but you may not...
Time.
This school year I've really started to realize how incredible time is and how little time we have. Right now I just looked at the clock and was like "It's 4:03 already? Last time I looked it was 2:15." I guess with school, chores, reading, music, and other stuff, time goes by really quickly. And I have fencing tonight... I'm thinking about staying home, but I'm still trying to decide if fencing's gonna be an activity this year.
In Ecclesiastes it says in one of my favorite passages:
"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silent, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace."
I guess it might just be the time to not fence, the time to drop the sword.
And pick up the oboe? We found a music school that teaches oboe here. Still not sure if I get to take or not. Submerge at Oasis this year is a "yes" for me, I'm pretty sure. I think in a couple ways God's told me to do it this year, so I hope I'm listening correctly.
Greek Fire:
Mom, Dad, Cait, and I watched Timeline the other night, and I wanted to look farther into what Greek Fire was.
"Greek fire was a burning-liquid weapon used by the Byzantine Greeks, Arabs, Chinese, and Mongols. The Byzantines typically used it in naval battles to great effect as it could continue burning even on water. It was largely responsible for many Byzantine military victories, and partly the reason for the Byzantine Empire surviving as long as it did. The formula was a secret and remains a mystery to this day. As one contemporary victim of Greek fire advised his comrades, "Every time they hurl the fire at us, we go down on our elbows and knees, and beseech Our Lord to save us from this danger."
Many accounts note that the fires it caused could not be put out by pouring water on the flames—on the contrary, the water served to intensify or spread them, suggesting that 'Greek fire' may have been a 'thermite-like' reaction, possibly involving a quicklime or similar compound. Others have posited a flammable liquid that floated on water, possibly a form of naphtha or another low-density liquid hydrocarbon, as petroleum was known to Eastern chemists long before its use became widespread in the 1800s.
The Battle of Vienna.
Today, September 12, was the end of the Battle of Vienna, during which the Austrians pushed the Ottomans out.
Time.
This school year I've really started to realize how incredible time is and how little time we have. Right now I just looked at the clock and was like "It's 4:03 already? Last time I looked it was 2:15." I guess with school, chores, reading, music, and other stuff, time goes by really quickly. And I have fencing tonight... I'm thinking about staying home, but I'm still trying to decide if fencing's gonna be an activity this year.
In Ecclesiastes it says in one of my favorite passages:
"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silent, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace."
I guess it might just be the time to not fence, the time to drop the sword.
And pick up the oboe? We found a music school that teaches oboe here. Still not sure if I get to take or not. Submerge at Oasis this year is a "yes" for me, I'm pretty sure. I think in a couple ways God's told me to do it this year, so I hope I'm listening correctly.
Greek Fire:
Mom, Dad, Cait, and I watched Timeline the other night, and I wanted to look farther into what Greek Fire was.
"Greek fire was a burning-liquid weapon used by the Byzantine Greeks, Arabs, Chinese, and Mongols. The Byzantines typically used it in naval battles to great effect as it could continue burning even on water. It was largely responsible for many Byzantine military victories, and partly the reason for the Byzantine Empire surviving as long as it did. The formula was a secret and remains a mystery to this day. As one contemporary victim of Greek fire advised his comrades, "Every time they hurl the fire at us, we go down on our elbows and knees, and beseech Our Lord to save us from this danger."
Many accounts note that the fires it caused could not be put out by pouring water on the flames—on the contrary, the water served to intensify or spread them, suggesting that 'Greek fire' may have been a 'thermite-like' reaction, possibly involving a quicklime or similar compound. Others have posited a flammable liquid that floated on water, possibly a form of naphtha or another low-density liquid hydrocarbon, as petroleum was known to Eastern chemists long before its use became widespread in the 1800s.
The ingredients, process of manufacture, and usage were a very carefully guarded military secret—so secretive that it remains a source of speculation to this day. Speculations include
It is not clear if the operator ignited the mixture with a flame as it emerged from the syringe, or if it ignited spontaneously on contact with water or air. If the latter is the case, it is possible that the active ingredient was calcium phosphide, made by heating lime, bones, and charcoal. On contact with water, calcium phosphide releases phosphine, which ignites spontaneously. The reaction of quicklime with water also creates enough heat to ignite hydrocarbons, especially if an oxidizer such as saltpeter is present. However, Greek fire was also used on land.
These ingredients were apparently heated in a cauldron, and then pumped out through a siphon or large syringe (known as a siphònariòs) mounted on the bow of the ship. Such a ship was herself called a siphònòphòròs. It could also be used in hand grenades, made of earthenware vessels. If a pyrophoric reaction was involved, perhaps these grenades contained chambers for the fluids, which mixed and ignited when the vessel broke on impact with the target."
That was from Wikipedia.
The Battle of Vienna.
Today, September 12, was the end of the Battle of Vienna, during which the Austrians pushed the Ottomans out.
The Battle of Vienna took place on September 11 and September 12, 1683 after Vienna had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months. The battle broke the advance of the Ottoman Empire into Europe, and marked the political hegemony of the Habsburg dynasty.
The large-scale battle was won by Polish-Austrian-German forces led by King of Poland Jan III Sobieski against the Ottoman Empire army commanded by Grand Vizier Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha.
The battle started before all units were fully deployed. Early in the morning at 4:00, Turkish forces opened hostilities to interfere with the Holy League's troop deployment. A move forward was made by Charles, the Austrian army on the left, and the German forces in the center.
Mustafa Pasha launched a counter-attack, with most of his force, but holding back parts of the elite Janissary and Sipahi for the invasion of the city. The Turkish commanders had intended to take Vienna before Sobieski arrived, but time ran out. Their sappers had prepared another large and final detonation under the Löbelbastei,[4] to provide access to the city. While the Turks hastily finished their work and sealed the tunnel to make the explosion more effective, the Austrian "moles" detected the cavern in the afternoon. One of them entered and defused the load just in time.
At that time, above the "subterranean battlefield", a large battle was going on, as the Polish infantry had launched a massive assault upon the Turkish right flank. Instead of focusing on the battle with the relief army, the Turks tried to force their way into the city, carrying their crescent flag.
After 12 hours of fighting, Sobieski's Polish force held the high ground on the right. At about five o'clock in the afternoon, after watching the ongoing infantry battle from the hills for the whole day, four cavalry groups, one of them Austrian-German, and the other three Polish, totaling 20,000 men, charged down the hills. The attack was led by the Polish king in front of a spearhead of 3000 heavily armed winged Polish lancer hussars. This charge broke the lines of the Ottomans, who were tired from the long fight on two sides. In the confusion, the cavalry headed straight for the Ottoman camps, while the remaining Vienna garrison sallied out of its defenses and joined in the assault.
The Ottoman army were tired and dispirited following the failure of both the sapping attempt and the brute force assault of the city, and the arrival of the cavalry turned the tide of battle against them, sending them into retreat to the south and east. In less than three hours after the cavalry attack, the Christian forces had won the battle and saved Vienna from capture.
After the battle, Sobieski paraphrased Julius Caesar's famous quote by saying "veni, vidi, Deus vicit" - "I came, I saw, God conquered"
Again, taken from Wiki.
Remembrance.
I know this is a day late, but I didn't get around to posting it until today. Yesterday was the 6-year mark since 9/11. The day before I'd been watching the video Cait and Daddy took when they visited GroundZero in 2003. And I was quiet. I was 8 when the towers fell, and it took me a while to full grasp what had happened. I knew it was something bad, but I was more concerned about ballet and history club being cancelled than the tragedy. A few months ago I read a book about a firefighter who risked his life to save a business man. And I was crying.
Just remember. And think about it.
God bless.
Kilo-Yankee.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Beaches and Cameras
It kinda seemed like this needed updating. :P
Even though it's only been about four days.
The Oasis (youth group) kick-off was at the beach on Friday. The R's picked us up after Church because mom, dad, Nate, and Candace had a BBQ to go to. Mr. R took us to Mamzar Park, and we went in about the same time as the P's, and walked about a mile to beach 4. Hannah kept asking "Are we there yet?" just to be silly, and she and Dan were convinced we should've taken the kiddie train around the park. Hannah C., Sarah H., Elisabeth, Hannah Pk, and I played volleyball for a little while, then Sarah and I watched Ben, James, and Zachary for a while. We went in the water (tried playing frisbee with Daniel... but without his glasses he can barely see so it didn't go so well), and then dried off and ate dinner (which was yummy - Arabic food, taters, and rice... mmmm....). Mitch started a game of Capture the Flag, and it kinda died down so we played Duck Duck Goose until we gathered up our stuff, prayed and sang for a few minutes, then loaded up into the bus... we started clapping for everyone who came on... don't ask. Pastor W dropped a bunch of us off at the front gate, where Mr. R picked us up. It went waaay late and I was waaay tired when we got back.
Yesterday and today I've really been working on transferring old video stuff from the MiniDVs to DVDs. Pinnacle still gets rather frustrating sometimes, but I've figured out how to work it a bit more.
Also, I've been looking into getting a video camera of my own. I have about $275 saved up already, and I've been looking into what camera I want. Just curious about what all of you have (Camera brand, make, and accessories) and what you like. This is the one I'm looking at right now, with the accessory kit and a lens filter. Any input is helpful.
Anyway, I'm gonna go watch some old footage of Candace sucking her thumb...
Over'n'out
Kilo-Yankee.
Even though it's only been about four days.
The Oasis (youth group) kick-off was at the beach on Friday. The R's picked us up after Church because mom, dad, Nate, and Candace had a BBQ to go to. Mr. R took us to Mamzar Park, and we went in about the same time as the P's, and walked about a mile to beach 4. Hannah kept asking "Are we there yet?" just to be silly, and she and Dan were convinced we should've taken the kiddie train around the park. Hannah C., Sarah H., Elisabeth, Hannah Pk, and I played volleyball for a little while, then Sarah and I watched Ben, James, and Zachary for a while. We went in the water (tried playing frisbee with Daniel... but without his glasses he can barely see so it didn't go so well), and then dried off and ate dinner (which was yummy - Arabic food, taters, and rice... mmmm....). Mitch started a game of Capture the Flag, and it kinda died down so we played Duck Duck Goose until we gathered up our stuff, prayed and sang for a few minutes, then loaded up into the bus... we started clapping for everyone who came on... don't ask. Pastor W dropped a bunch of us off at the front gate, where Mr. R picked us up. It went waaay late and I was waaay tired when we got back.
Yesterday and today I've really been working on transferring old video stuff from the MiniDVs to DVDs. Pinnacle still gets rather frustrating sometimes, but I've figured out how to work it a bit more.
Also, I've been looking into getting a video camera of my own. I have about $275 saved up already, and I've been looking into what camera I want. Just curious about what all of you have (Camera brand, make, and accessories) and what you like. This is the one I'm looking at right now, with the accessory kit and a lens filter. Any input is helpful.
Anyway, I'm gonna go watch some old footage of Candace sucking her thumb...
Over'n'out
Kilo-Yankee.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
One Year
Well, almost a month ago we'd been living over here for a year.
So I thought I'd do a one-year-where-we-are post...
When we moved, I never thought I'd...
- Play hockey in 100+ degree weather... and add humidity to that, too.
- Drop ballet and start fencing.
- Want to learn Arabic
- Like playing volleyball
- Meet people from so many different countries.
- Attend a MASSIVE church.
- Deepen my relationship with God as much as I have.
There are tons more, too, but those are the big ones...
The hockey one was just today, I was so surprised when a knock on the door was Al and Aaron wondering if we wanted to play hockey. We went out, though, and it was pretty fun. I was even more surprised, though, when Jack left the game because "it was just a game." I've been praying for him, though. I'd like it if you would pray for him... he's quite strongly for evolution, and swears a lot, etc.
I've also finished my first week of school... I'm still deciding whether or not I like chemistry, it kinda goes up and down. But Logic today was fun (and easy), geometry so far has been a blast (went ahead a bit, took the first test yesterday, only missed two from really stupid mistakes from the guy's wording), Bible and history are great, and my two languages are going okay... we still don't have an Arabic program, so this week was just reviewing the alphabet.
Fencing has been going well... but that leads us to another prayer request. As a family, we're trying to re-do our schedule for this year, and I may have to drop an activity - whether Oasis, WellGroup (which would also mean dropping WaterWorks), WaterWorks, Music, or Fencing... and I really can't decide. Music might be dropped, though, if we can't find a teacher for the instrument I want - Oboe or viola.
Anyway.
The blog may look weird for a little while, I figured out how to put up part of the custom layout, and I think I'll leave it like that cuz I like it. But it may appear a little strangely at first.
Also thought I'd post something I made on the GIMP today...
Click it and it gets bigger. ;)
Over'n'out
Kilo-Yankee from her fresh new layout.
So I thought I'd do a one-year-where-we-are post...
When we moved, I never thought I'd...
- Play hockey in 100+ degree weather... and add humidity to that, too.
- Drop ballet and start fencing.
- Want to learn Arabic
- Like playing volleyball
- Meet people from so many different countries.
- Attend a MASSIVE church.
- Deepen my relationship with God as much as I have.
There are tons more, too, but those are the big ones...
The hockey one was just today, I was so surprised when a knock on the door was Al and Aaron wondering if we wanted to play hockey. We went out, though, and it was pretty fun. I was even more surprised, though, when Jack left the game because "it was just a game." I've been praying for him, though. I'd like it if you would pray for him... he's quite strongly for evolution, and swears a lot, etc.
I've also finished my first week of school... I'm still deciding whether or not I like chemistry, it kinda goes up and down. But Logic today was fun (and easy), geometry so far has been a blast (went ahead a bit, took the first test yesterday, only missed two from really stupid mistakes from the guy's wording), Bible and history are great, and my two languages are going okay... we still don't have an Arabic program, so this week was just reviewing the alphabet.
Fencing has been going well... but that leads us to another prayer request. As a family, we're trying to re-do our schedule for this year, and I may have to drop an activity - whether Oasis, WellGroup (which would also mean dropping WaterWorks), WaterWorks, Music, or Fencing... and I really can't decide. Music might be dropped, though, if we can't find a teacher for the instrument I want - Oboe or viola.
Anyway.
The blog may look weird for a little while, I figured out how to put up part of the custom layout, and I think I'll leave it like that cuz I like it. But it may appear a little strangely at first.
Also thought I'd post something I made on the GIMP today...
Click it and it gets bigger. ;)
Over'n'out
Kilo-Yankee from her fresh new layout.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Don't Go Where I Can't Follow?
A post I made on the Rebelution Forum... thought I'd re-post it here:
We have a dog.
His name is Eeyore.
Now Eeyore loves to go on walks. But more often than not, he wants to go where he wants to go, not where I want him to go. It makes me wonder – how often do we do this to God? Do we ever say “Sure, God, I’ll go wherever – as long as I want to go there. As long as I can follow. Just please, don’t go where I can't follow.” God created us, He knows what’s best for us, right?
We moved across the ocean a little over a year ago. At first, I really didn't want to go. But now that we're here, I like life better. God knew what He was doing when my dad got a job over here.
Food for thought:
- Why do we believe we can't follow where God is taking us?
- Why do we pull the leash in another direction?
- And what should we do when God wants us to go somewhere we don’t want to go?
Over'n'out
Kilo-yankee
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Back to School!
Well, today was/is the first day back to school.
*sigh* I love 10th grade so far. I think I'll survive everything I was worried about. At least for a little while.
Anyway, I got up at my normal school-week time, 6:30 (I try to get it down to 6, but it doesn't always work), and was out of bed by 6:40. After 20 minutes on the computer, I started my history lecture.
I love Dr. Grant's Orientations. Last year's was funnier, but this one was good, too. And, like last year, he stressed the "culture is religion externalized."
Then I got dressed and did Bible, which for the first semester is reading a book called "The Story of Christianity." I like Bible. Never any tests, quizzes, etc, but I seem to learn the most in it.
I thought it was breakfast time, so I went downstairs, but still had fifteen minutes, so I did literature. I get poetry for the first two weeks again. Yech. At least this year I don't have to do meter and all that tricky hard boring stuff.
After breakfast I started on Chemistry, which won't actually be so bad, I don't think. Today was all about mass and matter and the metric system. So not actually chemistry yet, only an introduction, but that's okay with me.
Geometry was a blast. All it was was 20 questions where basically all I did was come to a simple conclusion. Like "Linda pulled 3 tennis balls out of the basket. All three were yellow. Therefore..." and I had to come up with a conclusion. :P I think I'm going to like geometry, especially if it stays a lot like logic (which, sadly, I don't do logic until Thursday, and it's only once a week).
I just reviewed for French. Used a picture of our old cat as a person to talk to so I could practice asking questions... then I answered them for her. I know, I'm weird.
Critical thinking was easy today, too. I can't believe that book is for 7-12th grade. So far it seems like 4th grade.
Corrected a few old Algebra tests (yeah, I leave Algebra, and suddenly it all clicks and I fixed them easily and [I think] correctly). And now it's 11 o'Clock and I'm done with school.
Tonight we're celebrating my birthday as a family. Mommy and I are going to make Spatzle for dinner. Yum.
Yesterday Cait and some of her friends went to see a movie, and since Hannah's older sister was going, she came, too, and we watched Candace in Magic Planet while my mom visited with some local friends. It was fun, we got to go on rides for free with Candace because she was under 10, so we took turns with her. Then we walked around some, got dinner at Subway, ice cream from MacDonalds, then went into Magrudys for a while. The movie finished and Hannah and everyone else got picked up, then we drove home. Fun day.
Guess I should go do music practice.
Well... it's nice to be back in school.
Over'n'out
Kilo-Yankee
*sigh* I love 10th grade so far. I think I'll survive everything I was worried about. At least for a little while.
Anyway, I got up at my normal school-week time, 6:30 (I try to get it down to 6, but it doesn't always work), and was out of bed by 6:40. After 20 minutes on the computer, I started my history lecture.
I love Dr. Grant's Orientations. Last year's was funnier, but this one was good, too. And, like last year, he stressed the "culture is religion externalized."
Then I got dressed and did Bible, which for the first semester is reading a book called "The Story of Christianity." I like Bible. Never any tests, quizzes, etc, but I seem to learn the most in it.
I thought it was breakfast time, so I went downstairs, but still had fifteen minutes, so I did literature. I get poetry for the first two weeks again. Yech. At least this year I don't have to do meter and all that tricky hard boring stuff.
After breakfast I started on Chemistry, which won't actually be so bad, I don't think. Today was all about mass and matter and the metric system. So not actually chemistry yet, only an introduction, but that's okay with me.
Geometry was a blast. All it was was 20 questions where basically all I did was come to a simple conclusion. Like "Linda pulled 3 tennis balls out of the basket. All three were yellow. Therefore..." and I had to come up with a conclusion. :P I think I'm going to like geometry, especially if it stays a lot like logic (which, sadly, I don't do logic until Thursday, and it's only once a week).
I just reviewed for French. Used a picture of our old cat as a person to talk to so I could practice asking questions... then I answered them for her. I know, I'm weird.
Critical thinking was easy today, too. I can't believe that book is for 7-12th grade. So far it seems like 4th grade.
Corrected a few old Algebra tests (yeah, I leave Algebra, and suddenly it all clicks and I fixed them easily and [I think] correctly). And now it's 11 o'Clock and I'm done with school.
Tonight we're celebrating my birthday as a family. Mommy and I are going to make Spatzle for dinner. Yum.
Yesterday Cait and some of her friends went to see a movie, and since Hannah's older sister was going, she came, too, and we watched Candace in Magic Planet while my mom visited with some local friends. It was fun, we got to go on rides for free with Candace because she was under 10, so we took turns with her. Then we walked around some, got dinner at Subway, ice cream from MacDonalds, then went into Magrudys for a while. The movie finished and Hannah and everyone else got picked up, then we drove home. Fun day.
Guess I should go do music practice.
Well... it's nice to be back in school.
Over'n'out
Kilo-Yankee
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