This is officially my first post in the year 2013. (Cool, huh?) But time goes so quickly! I can't believe 2012 has already come and gone. Time really does get faster as you get older. Seriously, when I was ten a week felt like FOREVER, but now it's just like, 'wait, what happened to my whole week?!' *Sigh* Oh well.
I was going to go somewhere else with this, but I think I'll stay focused on time for a little longer here. Yesterday, our pastor preached on Ephesians 5:15-17 (which I am not going to post here, so you'll have to look it up yourself). It talks about 'making the most of your time' or 'making the most of every opportunity' (depending on the version). I think for me that means taking time to develop my relationships with family and friends, but also being attentive to the opportunities God gives me to help anyone around me, including people I don't know. I need to be 'interruptible'. Part of my personality is very appreciative of structure and schedule, so I am not always (*cough*often*cough*) open to stopping in the middle of my school day to help one of my siblings with something. I want to change that, to be ready for the opportunities, waiting for them to come and recognizing them when they do. Yes, it'll take time and practice, but I don't want to waste my life. I was thinking this morning about what I would what it might look like if I lived each day as if it were my last. How would I treat people? What would I do differently? What would I focus on? I think I'm far too often focused on what I want and what I need to get done, but I'm afraid I often miss opportunities to help and encourage my siblings and friends. Most days I'm so focused on getting everything done that it would never occur to me to take a few minutes to e-mail a note of encouragement to someone or ask my sisters or brother if they need help with anything. I'd like to adjust my priorities. Make the most of my time.
But school is important too. I can't just drop everything even if it's with good intentions or for a good reason. Every day is not necessarily my last, and school is part of God's plan for me right now. However, maybe I could let go of finishing 'early' every day and give some of my time to, say, playing with my siblings and spending time with them. Isn't it interesting that we value time so much, but are so rarely generous with it?
One more thing, related to (can you guess?) writing. I believe God has called me to something with writing stories, and yet I spend so little time on it. I don't usually make New Year's resolutions, but one thing I decided I want to do this year/semester is get into a more consistent habit of writing. It's been pretty pathetic so far. But I'm working on it. It's hard not to fall back into the old and easy habits, but I want to make an effort. I know stories impact people, and if I never write mine down, they can't do that. Back to that 'if this were my last day' thing, if I know today were my last day, I would spend a huge chunk of time writing down my stories, because I think God's given them to me for a reason and I want to share them. Of course, I can't spend the whole day writing (even if I wanted to) but I can make it a goal to write something every day. I'm going to try. If y'all wouldn't mind cheering me on and getting on my nerves until I do it, I'd appreciate it :).
Monday, January 14, 2013
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Pocket-Watch
I did a photo shoot of my new pocket-watch just for you. It was fun! Here are the best pictures:
I like taking pictures. I should do this more often! Maybe I'll come up with some interesting backgrounds and take tons of pictures of my pocket-watch! :)
It's the day after Christmas, and all through the house...
:)
We were actually supposed to be driving to Texas today, but the bad weather through Oklahoma delayed us for a day :(. But that means I have a chance to tell you about my Christmas day!
My youngest siblings were up at 6:40 in the Christmas morning excitement. They weren't allowed to go into my parents' room until seven (the door was actually locked). I didn't get up till around 7:30 and it was about 8 by the time we all gathered around the tree. Before breakfast, we did the first part of our gift exchange. Every year we draw names and get presents for the one person we drew. Mom and Dad get presents for the kids too, but it is so much fun to just have one person to focus on and find something you know they'll like. I had Olivia and got her the whole Chronicles of Narnia series, since they're the first books she's actually enjoyed reading. Avery got me a really awesome pocket-watch necklace that I'd seen before and loved, so that was exciting. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of it, so you'll have to wait to see it till I do. Unless I wear it somewhere before then (which is very possible...)
Anyway, after that, we had a wonderful breakfast of Dad's homemade cinnamon rolls. YUM! Then before we dove into the rest of the gifts, we took some time to act out the Christmas Story, one of our few traditions. I memorized Luke's account of the Jesus' birth over the past two weeks, so I was nominated as narrator. Dad was Joseph, Mom was Mary, a baby-doll was baby Jesus, Sam and Olivia were shepherds, Jake was a sheep (sort of...) and Avery was an angel. It was a rather rowdy reenactment, partially from the 'sheep' barking at the shepherds and partially from the shepherds' excitement about the presents to come after, but it was still good. At least, I enjoyed thinking about Jesus' birth again. I always do. Mom also read a passage from Romans about God's love (I think it was from chapter 5...?)
When we finished, we opened the rest of the presents. My biggest (and probably most exciting) present came from my parents.
We were actually supposed to be driving to Texas today, but the bad weather through Oklahoma delayed us for a day :(. But that means I have a chance to tell you about my Christmas day!
My youngest siblings were up at 6:40 in the Christmas morning excitement. They weren't allowed to go into my parents' room until seven (the door was actually locked). I didn't get up till around 7:30 and it was about 8 by the time we all gathered around the tree. Before breakfast, we did the first part of our gift exchange. Every year we draw names and get presents for the one person we drew. Mom and Dad get presents for the kids too, but it is so much fun to just have one person to focus on and find something you know they'll like. I had Olivia and got her the whole Chronicles of Narnia series, since they're the first books she's actually enjoyed reading. Avery got me a really awesome pocket-watch necklace that I'd seen before and loved, so that was exciting. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of it, so you'll have to wait to see it till I do. Unless I wear it somewhere before then (which is very possible...)
Anyway, after that, we had a wonderful breakfast of Dad's homemade cinnamon rolls. YUM! Then before we dove into the rest of the gifts, we took some time to act out the Christmas Story, one of our few traditions. I memorized Luke's account of the Jesus' birth over the past two weeks, so I was nominated as narrator. Dad was Joseph, Mom was Mary, a baby-doll was baby Jesus, Sam and Olivia were shepherds, Jake was a sheep (sort of...) and Avery was an angel. It was a rather rowdy reenactment, partially from the 'sheep' barking at the shepherds and partially from the shepherds' excitement about the presents to come after, but it was still good. At least, I enjoyed thinking about Jesus' birth again. I always do. Mom also read a passage from Romans about God's love (I think it was from chapter 5...?)
When we finished, we opened the rest of the presents. My biggest (and probably most exciting) present came from my parents.
I am so excited!!!! I've been wanting to do this ever since we finished OYAN and I finally can! I'm not sure if I'll start when school picks up again or if I'll try to get farther on the other novel I've started. Oh, I suppose I should explain what Other Worlds is :). It's a follow-up curriculum to One Year Adventure Novel. It builds on the ideas taught in OYAN but is specifically focused on how to write Sci-fi and Fantasy :D.
Another exciting present is this:
The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson. I've read the books before and I have them all on my kindle, but I thought it would be neat to have hard copies of all my favorite books (so I could annotate them if I wanted to). So that's what I asked for for Christmas (yes, all my favorite books.) The Wingfeather Saga is one of my favorite series one, because it's fantasy, two, because it's a good story, and three, because the author's voice is so fun to read. He develops the plot at a good pace, the characters are likable and yet still flawed, and his fantasy world is also well-developed. His writing is often very humorous (for example, the introductions at the beginning of the first book--hilarious!) but he still conveys dread at the moments it's needed and the bad guys are bad. The flow of the words is very easy to read and understand and it does an amazing job of creating a 'movie' in your head. There are sweet parts, scary parts, sad parts, moving parts, funny parts. I don't feel like I'm doing an adequate job of describing them. Andrew Peterson is one of my favorite authors. Yes, I'm re-reading these books (if you look closely, you can see the top of my bookmark in On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness). No, you can't borrow them till I'm finished. Lucky for you, the Manhattan Public Library has all three. Except they're all checked out right now by one of my friends to whom I recommended them.
In the evening, we went to our 'Kansas family''s house and enjoyed a night full of good food, great friends, and fun games. A highlight to remember for many, many years!
Well, I have lots of reading and writing to do in the near future! I hope you all had Christmases as merry as mine. God bless you in this coming year!
Now, GO READ THE WINGFEATHER SAGA!!!!! ;D
Thursday, December 13, 2012
How I Deal with Imperfection in My Stories
Ignore it.
You may be noticing that many of my posts involve my lack of motivation to work on my stories. I've been thinking a lot about my novel from last year (and not a lot about the new one I'm supposed to be working on). I'd really like to do more with, well, any of my stories, but whenever I heave free time, I tend to use it on something like reading books or looking at stuff online. Yes, some of that is researching stuff for my new novel, but no, most of it not productive. I think one thing that was discouraging about Aubrinn's story (for lack of a better title) was that I had (and still have) so many problems that it doesn't feel like it will ever be finished. I'll just keep finding new problems. And I'm not even to the nit-picky stuff yet!
But like I said, I'd like to get it as finished as I can. And not doing anything with it is not going to help. I guess I just know it's going to be hard and I don't want to have to figure all the problems out. It's easier to just ignore them. But that only works for so long.
I think my fear of problems is also a factor in my hesitation in working on any new stories. As a perfectionist, I don't enjoy doing things I can't do really well the on first try. And editing shows me that my writing ISN'T perfect. I don't really expect it to be perfect, but I don't like seeing how far it has to go either! And I'd love to have people read it and help me edit, but seriously, the document is so full of notes to myself, holes, and highlights marking what I need to change, I think it would be hard to decipher the story!
Well, for now you'll have to settle for my synopsis. I just typed it up for someone else, so I figured I might as well put it here too. At least you'll get an idea of what it's about (or supposed to be about)!
"Princess Aubrinn is heir to the throne of her father’s kingdom, Alendais. At 16 years of age, Aubrinn believes she is old enough to take on more responsibility in helping her parents rule. The king and queen think otherwise. Aubrinn loves to lead and help people, but she despises etiquette and lessons in protocol, and her mother is determined to improve Aubrinn’s ladylike skills before the princess becomes queen. Aubrinn prefers adventure. Or so she thinks.
You may be noticing that many of my posts involve my lack of motivation to work on my stories. I've been thinking a lot about my novel from last year (and not a lot about the new one I'm supposed to be working on). I'd really like to do more with, well, any of my stories, but whenever I heave free time, I tend to use it on something like reading books or looking at stuff online. Yes, some of that is researching stuff for my new novel, but no, most of it not productive. I think one thing that was discouraging about Aubrinn's story (for lack of a better title) was that I had (and still have) so many problems that it doesn't feel like it will ever be finished. I'll just keep finding new problems. And I'm not even to the nit-picky stuff yet!
But like I said, I'd like to get it as finished as I can. And not doing anything with it is not going to help. I guess I just know it's going to be hard and I don't want to have to figure all the problems out. It's easier to just ignore them. But that only works for so long.
I think my fear of problems is also a factor in my hesitation in working on any new stories. As a perfectionist, I don't enjoy doing things I can't do really well the on first try. And editing shows me that my writing ISN'T perfect. I don't really expect it to be perfect, but I don't like seeing how far it has to go either! And I'd love to have people read it and help me edit, but seriously, the document is so full of notes to myself, holes, and highlights marking what I need to change, I think it would be hard to decipher the story!
Well, for now you'll have to settle for my synopsis. I just typed it up for someone else, so I figured I might as well put it here too. At least you'll get an idea of what it's about (or supposed to be about)!
"Princess Aubrinn is heir to the throne of her father’s kingdom, Alendais. At 16 years of age, Aubrinn believes she is old enough to take on more responsibility in helping her parents rule. The king and queen think otherwise. Aubrinn loves to lead and help people, but she despises etiquette and lessons in protocol, and her mother is determined to improve Aubrinn’s ladylike skills before the princess becomes queen. Aubrinn prefers adventure. Or so she thinks.
Another person in Alendais desires
the throne: Aubrinn’s treacherous cousin,
Tynon. Tynon and his surreptitious plans prove a threat not just to Aubrinn’s position but also to her
entire kingdom. Will Aubrinn learn what she truly needs to lead her people in
time to stop Tynon? What will she have to give up to keep Alendais out of Tynon’s selfish hands?"
Friday, December 7, 2012
Now you finally get to read this!
Luke is one of my favorite books of the Bible. I love the way Luke, the author, tells the stories and includes details about people. Yesterday morning, Mom read us part of the first chapter of Luke, the beginning of the Christmas story. At the very beginning, though, Luke gives an introduction to his book:
"Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught."
At another point yesterday morning, Mom had pointed out to me that I'm a researcher. I like taking the time to look stuff up and really understand and think about what I'm writing or talking about. She's absolutely right. But after reading these verses, I understand better why I like Luke--he researched it, made sure he knew what he was talking about, and he wrote it as a letter, which is an awesome way to tell a story!
Well, now that you know I like the book of Luke and a few reasons why, I'll get on with the story. So, Luke 1 is about the angel Gabriel's appearances to both the priest Zechariah and Mary, the future mother of Jesus. This is what Luke says about Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth:
"In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years."
Basically, they followed all of God's commands, yet he had not blessed them with what was considered one of the greatest in that day: children.
The story continues, and Zechariah, as a priest is selected to enter the Holy Place in the Temple to burn incense before the Lord. As he was performing his duty, an angel appeared to him and told him that his wife Elizabeth would become pregnant and give birth to a son, who was to be named John. The angel told Zechariah that his son would "be great in the sight of the Lord", that he would "be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth", and that he would "go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous--to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." Zechariah was obviously surprised, but he didn't necessarily believe this message, as we see from his reply:
"Zechariah asked the angel, 'How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.'" (Notice he didn't call her "old" also ;))
"The angel answered, 'I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time.'"
And so it happened. Everything the Gabriel said would happen did. Six months later, Gabriel went to Nazareth, in Galilee, "to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary." Listen to this greeting:
"The angel went to her and said, 'Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.'"
Now, compare Mary's reaction with Zechariah's:
Zechariah: "When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear."
Mary: "Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be."
Gabriel gave Mary this message:
"Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
(You're probably noticing that I'm doing less paraphrasing now and more quoting. That's because it's just that good the way it is.)
What an incredible message! As well as confusing and somewhat frightening, I would think. This is what Mary said:
"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
Very logical. Now, look at the differences between Zechariah's "How?" and Mary's "How?" Zechariah asked, "How do I know this will happen?" Mary asked, "How is that possible?" Mary didn't question whether or not it would happen, she was just wondering how. Zechariah had pretty much given up hope that he would ever have children and honestly didn't really think what the angel said would come true. Maybe that's why children believe things so easily--they haven't seen their hopes destroyed as much as adults have.
Anyway, I'll conclude the story:
"The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.'"
Nothing is impossible with God. Absolutely true, incredibly comforting. Now for Mary's response:
"'I am the Lord's servant,' Mary answered. 'May it be to me as you have said.'"
I honestly don't think I would have responded like that. I mean, what the angel said would happen would probably ruin her reputation. It would almost certainly change her plans for her life! But she still accepted God's plan and accepted it graciously. What an incredible girl.
There is obviously more to the story, but with as long as I've taken with this part, I think that should be saved for another day (or several other days). Or you could read it yourself. I'd love to hear other people's insights on one of my favorite stories!
"Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught."
At another point yesterday morning, Mom had pointed out to me that I'm a researcher. I like taking the time to look stuff up and really understand and think about what I'm writing or talking about. She's absolutely right. But after reading these verses, I understand better why I like Luke--he researched it, made sure he knew what he was talking about, and he wrote it as a letter, which is an awesome way to tell a story!
Well, now that you know I like the book of Luke and a few reasons why, I'll get on with the story. So, Luke 1 is about the angel Gabriel's appearances to both the priest Zechariah and Mary, the future mother of Jesus. This is what Luke says about Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth:
"In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years."
Basically, they followed all of God's commands, yet he had not blessed them with what was considered one of the greatest in that day: children.
The story continues, and Zechariah, as a priest is selected to enter the Holy Place in the Temple to burn incense before the Lord. As he was performing his duty, an angel appeared to him and told him that his wife Elizabeth would become pregnant and give birth to a son, who was to be named John. The angel told Zechariah that his son would "be great in the sight of the Lord", that he would "be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth", and that he would "go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous--to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." Zechariah was obviously surprised, but he didn't necessarily believe this message, as we see from his reply:
"Zechariah asked the angel, 'How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.'" (Notice he didn't call her "old" also ;))
"The angel answered, 'I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time.'"
And so it happened. Everything the Gabriel said would happen did. Six months later, Gabriel went to Nazareth, in Galilee, "to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary." Listen to this greeting:
"The angel went to her and said, 'Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.'"
Now, compare Mary's reaction with Zechariah's:
Zechariah: "When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear."
Mary: "Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be."
Gabriel gave Mary this message:
"Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
(You're probably noticing that I'm doing less paraphrasing now and more quoting. That's because it's just that good the way it is.)
What an incredible message! As well as confusing and somewhat frightening, I would think. This is what Mary said:
"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
Very logical. Now, look at the differences between Zechariah's "How?" and Mary's "How?" Zechariah asked, "How do I know this will happen?" Mary asked, "How is that possible?" Mary didn't question whether or not it would happen, she was just wondering how. Zechariah had pretty much given up hope that he would ever have children and honestly didn't really think what the angel said would come true. Maybe that's why children believe things so easily--they haven't seen their hopes destroyed as much as adults have.
Anyway, I'll conclude the story:
"The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.'"
Nothing is impossible with God. Absolutely true, incredibly comforting. Now for Mary's response:
"'I am the Lord's servant,' Mary answered. 'May it be to me as you have said.'"
I honestly don't think I would have responded like that. I mean, what the angel said would happen would probably ruin her reputation. It would almost certainly change her plans for her life! But she still accepted God's plan and accepted it graciously. What an incredible girl.
There is obviously more to the story, but with as long as I've taken with this part, I think that should be saved for another day (or several other days). Or you could read it yourself. I'd love to hear other people's insights on one of my favorite stories!
WOW!!!!!!
I just realized that somehow the computer miraculously saved that one post I thought was deleted!!! (this is minutes after that last post, by the way) Thank you God! Wow. I guess I can finish it now. I guess it serves as a good warning though: ALWAYS BE CAREFUL AROUND DELETE BUTTONS! THEY CAN BE HARMFUL AND CAUSE UNEXPECTED BURSTS OF ANGRY BLOG POSTS! So, yup.
I am frankly disgusted with my delete button right now.
The delete button is only useful when used on purpose. I am so mad at myself right now. Mad at the computer is more like it. I had almost finished this incredibly long post that required a lot of copying and pasting and I was really enjoying it when I pressed something and it erased everything. Everything!!! And it wouldn't let me undo the action!! Aghhh! Honestly... and the thing was super long and had taken me like at least 45 minutes to write! Grrr.... Sometimes I wish everything could still be hand written. It's a lot harder to delete it then. If you want some idea of what I was posting about, read Luke chapter one and compare Zechariah's and Mary's reactions to the angel's messages to them. I'm too disgusted and short on time to re-type the whole thing. Maybe I'll try again in a few days. And yes, I know this does not meet the minimum of 300 words. I'll do something more later. Maybe I'll write it all by hand before I type it here so I can't accidentally delete it all.
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