Fulfilling My New Year's Resolution . . . 11 Months Late

In January I wrote that I'd forgotten I had a blog and it wasn't until someone mentioned it that I remembered. Well, that happened again. This time, though, I intend to keep up with it. I feel like it's really important now since I'm not living in close proximity to the people I want to share my life with anymore. That's kind of a bummer, but I guess it's all the more reason to write on here. So, here's to fulfilling my new year's resolution 11 months later. Just in time to make a new one, right? And is that what you do with a resolution, fulfill it? I don't even know but that's the only thing I could think of that makes sense. Don't ask what else my mind came up with.
I think the reason I have failed to keep up with my blog is because I was the only one motivating myself to do it. So if you see that I haven't posted anything in a while and you want to know more about my life, send me a facebook message, e-mail, or even a note in a paper airplane. Whatever works for you.
Oh, and to go along with what I guess could be called the re-opening of my blog, I updated it and changed the formatting and all that fun stuff. Well, I changed it a little. But you know me, I'm a traditionalist.

Plugged In

High School retreat was this past weekend. We went to a resort in Lunahuana and it was the first time we didn't go to Kawai. When hearing that we weren't going to the beach I was really disappointed. I haven't been on any retreats to the beach this year which is a total bummer and, ever since moving to Peru, I've gone to Kawai at least once every year and it's looking like that won't be the case this year, my last year in Peru. At Lunahuana, there were so many bugs. My legs are really itchy right now and I hate it. Another thing is that I couldn't go swimming until the last day. The thirty minutes I spent in the pool on the second to last day doesn't count because I was cold, uncomfortable, and thirty minutes is not very long for me. I've spent hours in pools before. But you know what? This retreat was amazing. And it was a combination of a lot of things that made it so great.

First was all the senior time we had. We got a bus to ourselves on the way there and on the way back. It was fun to just talk and enjoy each other's company. Then when a lot of the group went white water rafting, all the seniors except Lydia and Peter stayed and got in the pool together. Having Priscilla's waterproof camera to capture our adventures down the slide was perfect. I love our High School group, but it was good for us to have a little bit of time together as a class here and there.

The location was beautiful. The rooms were really nice, it had a grassy area, an awesome pool, and really good food. There were mountains almost all around and we were right by the river. I think one of my favorite nature sounds after rain and the ocean is the sound of a rushing river. And the place was big, but small at the same time. We were all in the same area and if we wanted to go and do something, it was right there. Yeah, we didn't have a giant area where we could play capture the flag, but we didn't have to worry about people not knowing it was time for a meal, or one of the sessions. And we didn't have to worry about going off and having three people in a group and stuff like that. We were all together when we did stuff, no matter if we were in the pool, playing dutch blitz, or throwing around a football.

The pool was awesome. It could get a little crowded if we were all in there, but it was great. Especially since it was so hot. I never went down the slide in a big group, and maybe that was a good thing considering everyone else's bruises and scrapes, but it was so much fun. And watching people throw each other in was hilarious. Once one person got thrown in, people would get out to throw others in and get thrown in. And teachers joined in too. They also wrestled with us and each other on the grass. I'm a little embarrassed to say that I didn't stand a chance against Miss Murrell, but it was still totally worth it because later Mr. Herring did the same thing to her and Miss McKinney.

Airband was THE best ever. In the four years I've gone on High School retreat, this was the one where the most people got into it and we had the funniest performances. Yes, some of them made you wonder what they did with their thirty minutes of prep time, but others were just amazing. Chad made a great Justin Beiber, Raul's Elvis was awesome, Josh's old lady was almost too believable, I don't know if I really wanted to see Levi, Michael, or Felix take off their shirts though. Other than knowing all the words, my Fresh Prince was awful. I enjoyed it, but that is the only time anyone will ever see me trying to be gangster.

The messages that Bruce shared with us were really good. The new perspectives on the story of the rich young man and the story of Jacob and Esau blew my mind. And I really liked how the last message was about how we do and keep doing what we were talking about. I feel like a lot of times we say we should do and be all these different things for Christ, but we don't say how to do them. Our small group times were awesome too.

But the major thing God showed me on this retreat didn't really have much to do with what we talked about in our large group and small group sessions. For weeks, God has been putting something on my heart, something that he wants me to do. And for the longest time I'd be determined to do it but then when the opportunity came, I wouldn't, and I'd go back to God telling him that I just couldn't do it, that it was too hard, that I didn't want to do it. It was an ongoing struggle and I think what kept me from doing it was mostly pride and me not wanting to go outside of my comfort zone. Up until the retreat it was between me and God. In Bible class, during my quiet time before and at retreat God was constantly prompting me to do this for him, but I never told anyone about it. Then someone came up to me and told me exactly what God had been putting on my heart. The thing is, this wasn't one of my peers who's opinion I respected, it was someone who I really had a hard time hearing this from. But it was good. It was another thing God was working on in my heart at the time, even though I hadn't realized it.

So I have six big bug bites but I know that others have way worse, I didn't get to enjoy the pool as much as I wanted to but I still had loads of fun when I wasn't in it, we didn't go to the beach but I probably would have gotten really sunburnt. Retreat was just great. I loved it. I'm glad that my last retreat was the best one I'd ever been on.

2011

God's been showing me some great things this month. I'm really excited to share them with the BLOOM girls, but I felt like sharing them on here too.

1. Flee Immorality

Psalm 104:34

"May my meditation be pleasing to Him;
I will rejoice in the LORD."

Psalm 19:14

"May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to You,
LORD, my rock and my Redeemer."

We want to please God with all that we do. That includes what we watch, what we listen to, and who and what we talk about.

Philippians 4:8

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

Take a look at all the things you do, the things you listen to, the things you watch, the things you say. Now ask yourself if those things are pure. If they are right. If they are admirable. If they are praiseworthy.

James 1:27

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Daniel 1:7

"But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way."

Don't be polluted. Make a commitment with Godto stay away from things that aren't edifying.

Ed Cole said "Basura que entra, basura que sale."

If you're exposing yourself to things that go against God's will for you, it's going to come out of you whether you want it to or not.

Luke 1:37

"For nothing is impossible with God."

If you ask God to help you take care of these things that aren't pleasing to him, he will. B transformed by the renewing of your mind. He'll do it. He doesn't want you to stay in that sin. But you have to make a commitment to do it. And you'll probably want to have something as a replacement. If it's a tv show that you always watch, determine to read the Bible during that time. If it's a song that's not pleasing to God, find praise music and put that on when you want to listen to the other music.

2. Finding Faults in Others

Matthew 7:3-5

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."

Luke 6:41-42

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."

Sometimes we don't realize it. We think that everyone else needs help but we don't stop to think about whether we do or not. And maybe we don't think we need what's being said at the moment, but if it's standing out there's a reason so we need to pay attention.

I've been doing this a lot recently. I'll be at church, or youth group, or Bible study and I'll think, "I hope so-and-so is listening to this. It's just what they need to hear to get their life back on track." Or I'll be thinking that it's a shame that that person isn't hearing the message. That thinking is so hypocritical! Yeah, maybe that other person is showing signs of not following God completely, but we can't put ourselves above them and say that we are.

And sometimes it's the other way around. We're the ones with the speck and they're the ones with the plank. But that doesn't mean we can ignore our sin and try to fix their's. Any sin separates us from God, no matter how small. We need to take care of ourselves first so we won't be hypocrites.

3. My Dear Brothers

I've been thinking about this for a while and it's something I shared with my Bible class, but I think it goes along with the other things.

We are still called to approach a brother or sister in Christ when they are doing something that goes against God.

The phrase "my dear brothers" shows up a couple of times in the New Testament. It's an example of how we should approach our brothers and sisters in Christ.

"My" shows belonging. It says, "I'm telling you this because I love you."

"Dear" says, "You are close to my heart. I don't want bad things to happen to you."

"Brothers" shows equality. It says, "I'm not above you. I am not judging you."

James 1:16 and 19

"Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers."

"My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,"

In this passage James is giving directions. Warn people about the traps of this world. Don't let them find out the hard way.

1 Corinthians 15:57-58

"But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

In this passage, Paul is encouraging the church in Corinth. Don't just help others in where they're failing, encourage them in the work that they are doing.

I realize this post is kinda long, but I'm excited about these things. I've always known them, but it's like they're just now becoming a reality for me and I felt like sharing them.

Ventanilla

Ventanilla.

I spent five days in Ventanilla with a group from a church in Texas. Every day I would leave my house at around six to get to the hotel at seven. We’d get back to the hotel at around six and I’d get home a little after 7:30. It’s hot in Ventanilla and the orphanage was sandy. I’d come home every day very dirty and very tired.

But it was all worth it.

I was put in a group with two girls and a different medical student every day. We’d start with the three to six year old boys, spend an hour with them and then spend an hour with the three to six year old girls. We definitely got more done with the girls. Those little boys were all wild and there were sixty of them. I ended the week with a deep respect for the house mom who has to spend all her time with them. The first two days it was a relief to finish with the boys and go to the quiet, obedient girls. But on Wednesday and Thursday, I spent the afternoon time with those boys, just playing with them. There were six or seven of them who would spend the whole two hours with me and some who would come and go. The rest all played by themselves, with someone else, or with Hannah, the other girl who went with me in the afternoons. They didn’t all flock to me and listen to me, but that was ok. I loved being with those boys. They would sit with me when I got tired and fight over my lap. When I proposed a game they would jump in whole-heartedly. I got there one afternoon to find that the makers Hannah had taken were all over the place. Most of them didn’t care, but the boys who were with me did their best to find all the markers when I asked them too.

I took lots of pictures that week, but very few of them are of the boys. I was too busy playing with them.

On Friday we had a big celebration at in the Chapel. As we were leaving, I felt like crying. Those boys made me yell to get their attention, run after them when they ran away, and go home every day ready for bed. But I love them. It breaks my heart to think that some of those sweet little boys are unwanted by their parents. And it made me sad that some of them had to be far away from their families because their parents need to work.

God did amazing things that week. So many kids from different age groups gave their lives to Christ. Every day that we went, there were just enough people to do everything that needed to be done. The team left Texas with less people than they wanted to and some of the translators went sporadically but every day God brought in people to fill for the ones who weren’t there.

Being the translator, I had to speak the loudest. Thursday night my throat was sore and Friday morning I couldn’t talk. I made a declaration that it was not from God, that the devil was trying to take away what I needed to reach those kids. By the time we got to the orphanage, my throat and my voice were fine.

I will never forget this week in Ventanilla. It was further confirmation from God that I should study Secondary Education instead of Elementary Education, but it was still amazing and I will carry those boys with me in my heart forever. I can't wait until I get a chance to go back.

New Year's Resolution

So, the writing every month thing kinda didn't work out. I said this before and, unfortunately, I have to say it again. I forgot I had a blog. If it wasn't for a friend asking me to update it, I probably wouldn't have remembered. But I think I will be writing more. It's vacation time now and we're not going anywhere so I'll have a lot of time at home and I am going to be doing things that might be worthy of a blog post.

So, I guess my New Year's resolution is to write on my blog more consistently. :)

Yes, I Have Swine Flu

It looks like I'll be posting something once a month. Hmm, that's not too bad. Like I said in the last one, I kind of forgot that I have a blog. But I'm sick now and got bored of FaceBook and I remembered this. Not that anyone reads them, though. I'm guessing I'm the only person who knows about this. Oh, well. It's still a good way to express myself. And, who knows, people might read this one day. Or, like Greg Heffely in Diary of a wimpy Kid, when I become rich and famous, I can direct all the news people to my blog instead of having to answer all their silly questions about my past. Yeah, like that's going to happen . . .
Anyways, I'm sick right now, that's probably why this is all a bunch of nonsense, but I'll keep writing anyways. I have swine flu. Crazy, I know. The world-wide epidemic was over a year ago, but apparently these things hang around. And, don't worry, this is not my death note. The doctor said that swine flu is dangerous for obese or unhealthy people and, since I am neither of those two, I just have to wait it out at home.
I've been stuck in my house for the past two days and will have to be stay here for another two days, alternating between my bed, the couch in my room, and the couch in the living room. I've eaten lots of Jell-O with the ocassional pack of soda crackers, baked potato, and some assorted fruit. I love Jell-O, usually. But right now I'm sick of it. There's a whole dish full of it downstairs on the kitchen counter all for me but I'm so tired of it that I'm eating one of my least facorite cereals. Corn Flakes. Willy Wonka was right, it's made of the little things that hang out in your pencil sharpener. But Mom said that I have to eat something. And it has made my headache go away. But I'd really like to eat some of the mashed potatoes that are sitting in my fridge. Problem is, I'm supposed to stay away from the refridgerator, Dad's not home, and everyone else in my house is either asleep or as sick as I am. So for now I'm stuck with the pencil shavings.
Anyways, where was i going witht his? Oh, right, I'm sick and have nothing else to do. Gotcha.
Yeah, having nothing else to do is not really true. I should be reading my book for Novels that was assigned in the middle of August and is due at the end of the month. I could be writing in my journal and catching up on all that's happened because I haven't written in it since the end of July. I could be studying for my Bible and Vocab tests. But I'm being lazy and I'm wasting my time on the computer.
Ugh, I got off topic again. Think I'll ever finish what I wanted to say? No, me neither.
I have been playing the stocks game for Personal Finance. Since I usually check it at the end of the day when the stock market is closed, I never realized how much our rankings change through out the day. I was first when we first started the game, but then i dropped to sixth. I've been climbing up in the past couple of days and was second today, but now I'm third again. I don't think I'll ever end up last, though. I've got loads of stocks, a little bit in everything. And i have stocks that other people in my class have. :)
But Personal Finance was interesting last week.
On Tuesday we'd had our Student Council meeting. I was so glad for that because one of last year's seniors had come for a visit. we used to be friends, back when I was in 9th grade, but then he got a crush on me and I suddenly couldn't stand him. I never really got over being really annoyed by him. But it wasn't just because he liked me. Lots of other people got annoyed by him too. So he came back the other day and went to my sixth period class. I felt kind of bad about joining a group and leaving him next to my friend, but he didn't talk much or anything during that class. But then he followed me to my next class. And I know it was because of me because I passed him in the hall as he was about to go into another classroom and then he shows up in my class. Anyways, it's hard to say what I was feeling right then. But I know I was upset. I ignored him the whole time. When class was over, I left. My next class was Personal Finance. we had a test and, since I'm a good test taker (I either know it or I don't), I finished early. I hadn't taken any other homework with me so I pulled out my Bible to start studying the next memory verse. James 1:21-22, "Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word and so decieve yourselves. Do what it says." Um, wow. Think God was speaking to me? Yeah, I do too. Moral filth and evil in my life: Getting my dander up whenever someone who sometimes bothered me was around. The word planted in me: To love others, all the time, no matter what.
Yes, I will have trouble with people. We're not perfect. I will get upset. But I am so glad that God spoke to me the other day. I realize now that I was hurting myself more than the other person.
Hey, I did finish my thought. Yay! :)

His Blessings

So, things are going at a really fast pace and I kinda forgot that I have a blog . . .
I was right about one thing. A lot has been happening, even though I've only had one week of senior year. I was wrong about one thing, though, I don't know if I'm going to be posting a lot because I don't have much time.

But I did want to say this:
God's blessings are new every day. And, since they're new every day, they're new every year. I can see that. He has blessed me this past week with something I have been yearning for since I was little and I can't stop thanking him for it. :)