The 30-Day Blog Challenge, Day 21: On My Mind

Prompt: 5 things on your mind.

1) Thanksgiving
It's at this time of year that I really begin to think about what I'm thankful for. I know that I'm thankful for the obvious "Sunday School" answers: I'm thankful for my Savior, my home, my family, food, an education, etc. But what are the things that I'm thankful that I normally don't think about?

2) Friendships
When you attend an online school with thousands of kids all over the world, you'd think that you wouldn't feel very lonely. But this is one of the rare times that I truly do feel lonely. Part of that is because I'm an introvert, so I'm not very proactive when it comes to making friends and building relationships. I realized last week that in order to truly maintain friendships and relationships with people, you have to proactively seek out time with them, instead of waiting for natural events to give you the opportunity.

3) Talents
Some of you might be familiar with the mild stress, worry, and concern that comes from college prep in junior year of high school. Almost every college prep pamphlet, website, and program in the world tells high school juniors to ponder what they love doing, what they're talents are, and how to apply that to an expertise for adulthood. Obviously, it's kind of scary to think about. "What if I'm not as good at this as all the other kids my age are, so it's not as impressive to college entrance administrators?" "What if I turn out not to like this particular area of interest 10 years from now, even though I absolutely adore it now?" "How do I choose between these two interests?" "How do I turn as weird of an interest as this one into a career?" Lots of questions, lots of thinking, lots of unnecessary worry, because I know that I have a lot more time than I intuitively think. I just need to keep analyzing what I enjoy, and ask God to help me sort out what His plan is for me.

4) Reading
I used to really love reading a lot, but now I'm not finding the inspiration to do so. I think one of the problems is that I overwhelm myself with school reading by putting it off (because they're not always fun to read) and then I decide that I can't read anything because I feel guilty reading anything else but schoolwork. I'm figuring out that if I catch up and keep up, then I'll have a lot more time to read what I truly enjoy. But for right now, I'm very behind, and I need to focus hard on catching up.

5) 10,000 hours
Back to the talents again. An author named Malcolm Gladwell said that the approximate amount of time that a true expert spends in his field of work is about 10,000 hours, or around ten years. I think I know what I want to spend 10,000 hours in, but to look at that number is both inspiring and daunting at the same time. But that number keeps haunting me... Ten thousand hours of practice in order to achieve expertise. How will I spend ten thousand hours of my life?

Question for the Reader: What's on your mind?

"Jesus answered, 'Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.'" --John 11:9

November Resolutions

It's now time for another round of Monthly Resolutions: November 2013 Edition.

1) Drink at least 6 glasses of water every day.
According to health experts, humans should be drinking about 8 glasses of water per day. On most days, I find myself drinking about half of that, if at all. This is obviously not healthy, and I'd like to make that change.

2) Practice 120 minutes a week.
I've found that if I take a discipline and count the minutes that I'm practicing it and make a goal for a specific amount of minutes every week, it works very well for me.

3) Blog at least twice a week.
For obvious reasons. :)

4) Monastic Project
At school, I was assigned a project of reading through 1 Corinthians, and basically having "quiet time" in the morning or the evening and keeping track of what I learn. It's going to take some work, but I'd like to do well on it, and I think it will help me spiritually as well.

5) Catch-up on Omnibus Reading before Thanksgiving.
I'm behind. If I stick with the plan and persevere, I should be all caught up by Thanksgiving Day. What bliss that will be!

6) FINISH The 30 Day Blog Challenge.
What seemed like a simple blog project that would take no more than 40 days, turned into something that has now been unfinished as of about 4 months later. I need to finish this, guys. Only 10 more posts: I can do this.

7) Teach Youth Group
I'm teaching again on the 7th! So excited! Please pray that the Lord uses me to speak His words for what my peers need to hear from Him.

8) Schedule/Plan/Organize More Often
I spent a HUGE chunk of the summer organizing and making routines for myself so that I'd be a mean-green-academic-machine for this school year. Now...my binders are scarcely organized, my textbooks and notebooks are scattered all over the place: my school office, my bookshelves, my bedroom, my home computer area, my backpack...just everywhere. On top of that, I'm hardly ever using my planner (even though my online task list stays up to date) and things just aren't getting done the way they should! I'd like to be able to fix this, so I'll be well-organized when I get back to school after Thanksgiving Break.

9) Cut YouTube Time on Tuesdays and Sundays
Confession: I'm a big fan of youtube videos. I'm not at a point of obsession, but I watch it a little bit more than I probably should. I'd like to start cutting back on the 3-5 minute videos that quickly become an hour-long escapade.

10) Health
I'm trying harder to do more of cardiovascular exercise, strength training, and watching what I eat. I think if I stick to it, it will help me form really good healthy habits for the future.

These are a lot of goals, but I know that some of them will probably be a lot easier than they seem, because I've already gotten a head start in October. Here's to a great November!

Question for the Reader: What is a good habit you're trying to form?

"Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways." --Proverbs 4:26

(Link up to Kelli's She Learns As She Goes)

Photo credit: http://blog.ryanlawn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/fallTree.jpg

Halloween/Reformation Day

Happy Halloween everyone!

Or for those of you who celebrate it, happy Reformation Day to you as well!

I know it's not quite Halloween yet, but I thought I'd send my best wishes to you early, since it's unlikely that I'll be blogging tomorrow due to a busy schedule.

I hope you all stay safe and enjoy the day that the Lord has made, whether it's dressing up in a costume, eating candy, carving pumpkins, giving gifts to others, or doing the same-old same-old Thursday night routine, remembering God's presence and love.

For those of you in need of a good tune for the day, I would recommend the youtube link below. It is Mendelssohn's 5th Symphony, otherwise known as "The Reformation" Symphony. Mendelssohn based it off of Martin Luther's hymn, "A Mighty Fortress is Our God." It is one of my favorites, especially during this time of year. (Note: If you don't have time to listen to the entire thing, the 4th movement is my favorite part.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTdZTSqpwyg

God bless you all on this coming Halloween/Reformation Day! :)

Question for the Reader: What's your favorite way to celebrate October 31st?

"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good." --Romans 12:9

The 30 Day Blog Challenge, Day 20: Childhood Memories

Prompt: Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood.

Okay, I'm a teenager so by technicalities of the law and my parents (and I think the Bible too...) I'm still in "childhood." But I won't let that stop me from describing a few memories of mine. It'll be kind of like the letter I wrote to my 16 year old self even though I'm still 16! :)

1) Sunday School
I still vaguely remember some of the events of Sunday School at my church in Kissimmee, Florida when I was only 3 or 4 years old. We'd sing songs, learn Bible stories, and eat frosted Animal Crackers. I remember some of my teachers, and some of the songs we learned like "The Wise Man Built His House on the Rock," "Let My People Go," (I had my first lesson of snapping my fingers in this song), "Onward Christian Soldiers," and the most famous of all: "Jesus Loves Me." I'm so glad that I started learning about God's love at such a young age. I think that it was the foundation of my faith that was built early, so that it could be built upon for the rest of my life. And now, it's that faith of that little girl at Sunday School that I can fall back on when I have any doubt about God's love (and that doubt never lasts long).

2) Drawing Pictures
When I was about 4 or 5 years old, I used to ALWAYS draw or color pictures on 8' x 11" standard copy paper with RoseArt or Crayola crayons on a little table in my bedroom. The table, from Fisher Price, was a terrifyingly ugly dandelion yellow with two benches on the sides that were red and purple. Overall, the entire table was about 1.5 feet off the ground: very small, very ugly, very much used and loved. The table was my school desk and also the kid's table at many Thanksgiving dinners, but primarily, it was my drawing desk. I colored everything: ladybugs, jack-o-lanterns, Christmas Trees, Monster's Inc. characters, and baby Moses in a basket on the river. To this day, my grandmother collected them all (or what she could save anyway) and made a quilt which is hanging on the wall in my bedroom. Looking back, I think the reason I drew pictures so often was because it was my mode of communication. I didn't know how to write very well (at that time, I thought writing was using a pencil to draw letters in the alphabet) so I drew pictures about what I was feeling or thinking about. When I learned how to write sentences and stories, I didn't draw so much anymore at all. By the time I was 8, I had my own diary which I still have on my bookshelf today. Writing and drawing were things that God gave me to communicate with others that I've taken advantage of since I was little, and I still haven't stopped.

3) First Day at Kindergarten
My first day at Kindergarten was at Rocky Mountain Christian Academy in Niwot, Colorado in the early autumn of 2002. It wasn't the first day of school, but maybe a few weeks or a month afterwards, so I was considered "the new kid." I had already met my teachers a few days before, but not my classmates. My parents still have a picture of me and my sister on that morning before leaving for school in the front yard of the house we were staying in. The picture is too cute: Moriah in a pink sweater and polka-dot pants all ready for pre-school, and me in my uniform: navy blue cardigan, plaid skirt, and knee socks. I was more excited than nervous, but I remember being scared of going to a school for the morning with kids that I had never met before. My teachers were very kind though. During circle time, I got to pick a song to sing: I think I had the choice between the alphabet or the days of the week. Ready to try something new, I chose the days of the week song (and I still remember it to this day). I've been attending the same school every year since, and it's proven to be a big part of my life.

Question for the Reader: What are your favorite childhood memories?

"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." --Proverbs 22:6

The 30 Day Blog Challenge, Day 19: Well, You'd Probably Say the Same Thing!

Prompt: If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why?

My answer is pretty simple: Europe (especially the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, and Hungary).

I've always wanted to go to Europe because it has beautiful artwork, delicious cuisine, extraordinary opportunities for careers, and it seems that everywhere you turn around God especially reveals Himself in Creation. Of course I probably think that because of pictures on the Internet, but people who have been there and lived there always seem to show how unique, vibrant and beautiful the continent of Europe is.

I can't wait to see it for myself one day, Lord-willing.

This is a picture of the castle in Eger, Hungary where my church often goes on mission trips.

Question for the Reader: Where would you live if you could pick anywhere in the world?

"You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you." --Nehemiah 9:6

The 30 Day Blog Challenge, Day 18: "I Took the One Less Traveled By"

Prompt: A poem.

The Road Not Taken 

by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Question for the Reader: What is your favorite poem?

"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of mockers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law, he meditates both day and night." --Psalm 1:1-2

The 30 Day Blog Challenge, Day 17: I'm Not Perfect

Prompt: What is the thing you most wish you were great at?

I've learned recently that our culture rarely values this important definition of love: to be willing to drop EVERYTHING in order to be there for that person, whatever is on his/her mind.

In answer to the question: I wish I could be great at loving everyone around me, and displaying that through a strong relationship with God.

I'm not always good at maintaining my relationship with God, and each time I fail to live for the Lord, I find that at the same time, I don't maintain good relationships with others.

I know that I'll never be 100% perfect as Jesus was, but I know that one of my responsibilities as his child is to do my best to reflect His image. Furthermore, I know that I have a chance at becoming like Him because He made my record of sin completely clean. So, even though I mess up a lot, Christ made it so that I can still build up my relationships with God and others.

That means that Christ has given us all the chance to do great things.

Question for the Reader: What do you wish you were great at?

"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." --Ephesians 5:1-2