It's my last semester here, assuming I pass all my classes. I hope I do. I'm graduating in December. That scares me so much. Almsot to the point of tears. But so many people have graduated and lived. I think I will too. Not knowing where my life is going is the scariest part. One question I have come to dread is "What do you want to do when you graduate?" My answer: "I have no idea. Get a job, and then see where else it goes." I always try to play it off as no big deal and joke about it. Truth is all this uncertainty makes me nervous. People keep telling me to start looking for jobs now. I know I should, but I really don't want to face the "real world." I don't really see how college prepares anyone for the real world.
I am the new BASIC Hospitality Coordinator for this semester. I know it's not a huge role, but it's something. It was perfect timing because I was really starting to feel like I didn't play a huge part in BASIC and I was starting to kind of feel insignificant. And now I get to play a slightly bigger role, which, to me, is very humbling. It was so great to see all the new people at BASIC yesterday. I just pray they all come back next week, and that even more come! I got to talk to pretty much everyone, which I was proud of myself about. Not in a "Look at me, I'm so awesoem way," though. I was proud because a year or two ago, I would not have had the courage to talk to all the new people. But I did. :)
I think I'll keep the rest of the stuff I wanted to write about to myself for now. Toodles!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
The Boy from Heaven
I read this other book called "The Boy from Heaven." It's about this guy, Kevin, who has a wife and three kids. One day Kevin was driving home with his son, Alex, who was 6 at the time. The y got into a car accident and they had to rush Alex to the hospital because he was seriously injured. Most people thought he was going to die. There were others however who kept saying they firmly believed God was going to heal Alex completely. He isn't completely healed yet, but he is a long way from where he was. The book focuses on how Alex went to Heaven right after the accident and saw God and angels. He also describes what Satan and demons look like. I can't remember much but I remember reading that Satan was green with three heads and fire for hair and how each head whispered different lies. That whole section kind of freaked me out, so I'm going to stop talking about it, haha. Anyway, these are just a few of my favorite quotes and excerpts from this book.
Kevin: “Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption.” Pg 79
Kevin: “The prime target of the enemy is nighttime, when our minds and physical bodies are trying to rest. But the Spirit never sleeps.” Pg 65
Kevin: “There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still.” Pg 66
Alex had to have major surgery to get his spine straightened. During recovery in the hospital, all he cared about was whether the medical staff had a personal relationship with Jesus or not.
“Do any of you have a personal relationship with God?”
“I do,” one person said….when he was finished, one of the medical people smiled and said, “Alex, you are amazing.”
Alex responded, “God is amazing. I’m just a kid.” Pg 208
Kevin went home at one point with the other kids and there was a huge snowstorm that caused a power outage. So Kevin took the kids and went to his sister in law's for a couple days. While they were gone, a huge tree fell on their house. This is how Kevin's dad responded to the news. I think it's amazing.
Kevin's dad: "When Kevin called back and told me about the tree on the house, my first response was to laugh-not a laugh of callousness, but a laugh of joy at the goodness of God. I truly mean that. For me, the question isn’t, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” but “Why does anything good happen at all?” We certainly don’t deserve it. I told Kevin, “First, consider that the power went out. What a great blessing. Had it not gone out, Kevin, you would have been in the house with the kids when the tree struck the roof. Second, you badly needed to replace your roof anyway. Now you’ll get a brand new one, and your insurance is going to pay for it! And third, I have a question, Kevin: Which trees were taken down in this storm? All the weak ones! The strong trees are still standing. You’ve received a natural pruning, making your property safer and healthier, leaving the strong trees for your family to enjoy. By next July, you won’t be able to tell a single tree was taken down.” Pg 75
Kevin: “Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption.” Pg 79
Kevin: “The prime target of the enemy is nighttime, when our minds and physical bodies are trying to rest. But the Spirit never sleeps.” Pg 65
Kevin: “There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still.” Pg 66
Alex had to have major surgery to get his spine straightened. During recovery in the hospital, all he cared about was whether the medical staff had a personal relationship with Jesus or not.
“Do any of you have a personal relationship with God?”
“I do,” one person said….when he was finished, one of the medical people smiled and said, “Alex, you are amazing.”
Alex responded, “God is amazing. I’m just a kid.” Pg 208
Kevin went home at one point with the other kids and there was a huge snowstorm that caused a power outage. So Kevin took the kids and went to his sister in law's for a couple days. While they were gone, a huge tree fell on their house. This is how Kevin's dad responded to the news. I think it's amazing.
Kevin's dad: "When Kevin called back and told me about the tree on the house, my first response was to laugh-not a laugh of callousness, but a laugh of joy at the goodness of God. I truly mean that. For me, the question isn’t, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” but “Why does anything good happen at all?” We certainly don’t deserve it. I told Kevin, “First, consider that the power went out. What a great blessing. Had it not gone out, Kevin, you would have been in the house with the kids when the tree struck the roof. Second, you badly needed to replace your roof anyway. Now you’ll get a brand new one, and your insurance is going to pay for it! And third, I have a question, Kevin: Which trees were taken down in this storm? All the weak ones! The strong trees are still standing. You’ve received a natural pruning, making your property safer and healthier, leaving the strong trees for your family to enjoy. By next July, you won’t be able to tell a single tree was taken down.” Pg 75
Chasing Fireflies
So I read this other book by Charles Martin called, “Chasing Fireflies.” Like the other book of his that I blogged about, this one amazed me so much! I really like the way he writes and brings his characters to life. I decided to do the same thing I did last time and just give you a few excerpts from his book.
First of all, it’s about a journalist named Chase Walker who was adopted by “Uncle Willie aka Unc” and “Aunt Lorna” when he was 7 years old. Before then, he had no idea who his real parents were or where he came from. At one point when Chase is still young, him and Unc go fishing and Chase ends up underwater trapped by tree roots. Unc dives in and spends three minutes freeing him. When they are both on shore, Chase asks Un why he did it, and his reply was “’Cause, Chase, nothing…not one thing…compares to you.” It just made me think of how God feels about us. We are all unique and special and God made us that way for a reason.
The story also follows a physically abused boy who has also grown up not knowing who his real parents are or anything. All he’s ever known is foster homes and orphanages, until he meets Chase (who’s current job assignment is to write the story of the boy), Unc and Lorna. A district attorney has been assigned his case and in the beginning she fears getting too lose to the boy will not be helpful if ever his real parents show up. Unc tells her, “I appreciate what you’re doing, and I understand why. I really do. Were I in your shoes, I’d do the same. And you’re right…the possibilities in that boy’s future may hurt us. May hurt a lot. But I’m no stranger to the rain. It’s the hurting that makes it right…makes it worth doing.” I just think the writing is beautiful and can really make the emotions of the characters feel real.
Unc and Chase are sitting outside watching fireflies. Unc says: “Scientists say that these things evolved this way over millions of years.” He shook his head. “That’s a bunch of bunk. I don’t think an animal can just all-of-a-sudden decide it wants to make light grow out its butt. What kind of nonsense is that? Animals don’t make light.” He pointed to the stars. “God does that. I don’t know why or how, but I’m pretty sure it’s not chance. It’s not some haphazard thing he does in his spare time…Chase, I don’t believe in chance…this is not chance, and neither are the stars…And neither are you. So, if your mind is telling you that God slipped up and might have made one giant mistake when it comes to you, you remember the firefly’s butt.” It’s an interesting way of going about things, but I think he gets his point across pretty well. God doesn’t make mistakes. He makes treasures.
Chase’s “cousin”, Tommye (yep, that’s how it’s spelled), describes a dream she had to him: “I was standing inside a huge lighthouse. The stairwell spiraled around the inside of the walls of the lighthouse, and it was packed with people like me. Each stood in line, looking up toward the front where people were getting ready to meet whoever was up there. While they waited, they fussed over the pages in a book. Some looked like huge scrapbooks, while others looked like spiral notebooks. Everyone was working furiously, like kids trying to finish their homework before class. But I didn’t have one. Every now and then we’d get to move up a step, closer to the top. I could see a man, maybe the lighthouse keeper, sitting at a desk reading the books handed to him. If he liked the story, he smiled and placed it gently on the shelf behind him. The shelves went on for miles. Pretty, gilded books. Leather bindings. Gold leaf. But he didn’t like every book. And the ones he didn’t like, he pitched down through th middle of the lighthouse. They fluttered down and landed in a huge fire that was mounded high as a house…then I felt something in my hands and looked down to find a book in them. I opened it and found the story of me. And I didn’t like it. Talk about depressing. I nearly pitched it in the fire myself. But then I got to the end, and the last few pages were empty. I looked up front and the line was moving sort of slow, so I figured I still had time. And…I knew the story I wanted to write. So I raised my hand. Everyone looked at me like I’d lost my mind, but what did I have to lose? I’d already been dead. So I said, ‘Sir, you’re not gonna really like the story I’ve written, but if I could fill in these last few pages, you might...Can I go write these last few pages and come back when I’m done?’ He studied me, then smiled and nodded.” Tommye, when she was younger, had run off to California to become an actress. She was in a few commercials and then turned to “adult movies” in order to make a living. She also ended up heavy into drugs. It’s never too late to change your story and make it something to be proud of and not ashamed of. There is so much life to live. We can’t waste it sitting around doing nothing, you know?
Unc decides to explain to the boy just how special he is, as well. First, he explains how Michelangelo would create sculptures from rock and how Michelangelo would say the sculpture was there, it was just waiting to be let out. He goes on to say, “Inside you is a thing worth putting on a pedestal. –worth putting out there for all the world to see. That piece of rock might have been knocked around, roughed up a bit, considered scrap, and thrown on the trash pile…but that’s only because they don’t know what’s on the inside. They can’t see like Michelangelo. Cause, if they could, they’d know that there’s something in there that’s just waiting to jump out. Like there is inside you.”
Now it’s Unc describing a dream he had, “…I had this dream that my life was a rolling canvas. Everyday, it rolled off the sheet, bleached white, onto the beach of my life. Come sunup, I’d begin to paint it over with thoughts and actions. My breathing, my living, and my dying. Some days the pictures pleased me, maybe even pleased others, pleased God Himself, but some days, some months, even some years, they didn’t, and I didn’t ever want to look at them again. But the thing is this…everyday, no matter what I’d painted the day before, I got a new canvas, washed white. Cause each night, the tide rolled in scrubbed it clean, and receded, taking the stains with it. And in my dreams….I just stood on the beach and watched all that stuff wash out to sea…No canvas is ever stained clean through.” I don’t know about you, but this part inspires and encourages me so much. Isn’t amazing how we are given a tomorrow to start over, erase the mistakes from our past. Every day is a new gift, that’s why it’s called the “present” :)
First of all, it’s about a journalist named Chase Walker who was adopted by “Uncle Willie aka Unc” and “Aunt Lorna” when he was 7 years old. Before then, he had no idea who his real parents were or where he came from. At one point when Chase is still young, him and Unc go fishing and Chase ends up underwater trapped by tree roots. Unc dives in and spends three minutes freeing him. When they are both on shore, Chase asks Un why he did it, and his reply was “’Cause, Chase, nothing…not one thing…compares to you.” It just made me think of how God feels about us. We are all unique and special and God made us that way for a reason.
The story also follows a physically abused boy who has also grown up not knowing who his real parents are or anything. All he’s ever known is foster homes and orphanages, until he meets Chase (who’s current job assignment is to write the story of the boy), Unc and Lorna. A district attorney has been assigned his case and in the beginning she fears getting too lose to the boy will not be helpful if ever his real parents show up. Unc tells her, “I appreciate what you’re doing, and I understand why. I really do. Were I in your shoes, I’d do the same. And you’re right…the possibilities in that boy’s future may hurt us. May hurt a lot. But I’m no stranger to the rain. It’s the hurting that makes it right…makes it worth doing.” I just think the writing is beautiful and can really make the emotions of the characters feel real.
Unc and Chase are sitting outside watching fireflies. Unc says: “Scientists say that these things evolved this way over millions of years.” He shook his head. “That’s a bunch of bunk. I don’t think an animal can just all-of-a-sudden decide it wants to make light grow out its butt. What kind of nonsense is that? Animals don’t make light.” He pointed to the stars. “God does that. I don’t know why or how, but I’m pretty sure it’s not chance. It’s not some haphazard thing he does in his spare time…Chase, I don’t believe in chance…this is not chance, and neither are the stars…And neither are you. So, if your mind is telling you that God slipped up and might have made one giant mistake when it comes to you, you remember the firefly’s butt.” It’s an interesting way of going about things, but I think he gets his point across pretty well. God doesn’t make mistakes. He makes treasures.
Chase’s “cousin”, Tommye (yep, that’s how it’s spelled), describes a dream she had to him: “I was standing inside a huge lighthouse. The stairwell spiraled around the inside of the walls of the lighthouse, and it was packed with people like me. Each stood in line, looking up toward the front where people were getting ready to meet whoever was up there. While they waited, they fussed over the pages in a book. Some looked like huge scrapbooks, while others looked like spiral notebooks. Everyone was working furiously, like kids trying to finish their homework before class. But I didn’t have one. Every now and then we’d get to move up a step, closer to the top. I could see a man, maybe the lighthouse keeper, sitting at a desk reading the books handed to him. If he liked the story, he smiled and placed it gently on the shelf behind him. The shelves went on for miles. Pretty, gilded books. Leather bindings. Gold leaf. But he didn’t like every book. And the ones he didn’t like, he pitched down through th middle of the lighthouse. They fluttered down and landed in a huge fire that was mounded high as a house…then I felt something in my hands and looked down to find a book in them. I opened it and found the story of me. And I didn’t like it. Talk about depressing. I nearly pitched it in the fire myself. But then I got to the end, and the last few pages were empty. I looked up front and the line was moving sort of slow, so I figured I still had time. And…I knew the story I wanted to write. So I raised my hand. Everyone looked at me like I’d lost my mind, but what did I have to lose? I’d already been dead. So I said, ‘Sir, you’re not gonna really like the story I’ve written, but if I could fill in these last few pages, you might...Can I go write these last few pages and come back when I’m done?’ He studied me, then smiled and nodded.” Tommye, when she was younger, had run off to California to become an actress. She was in a few commercials and then turned to “adult movies” in order to make a living. She also ended up heavy into drugs. It’s never too late to change your story and make it something to be proud of and not ashamed of. There is so much life to live. We can’t waste it sitting around doing nothing, you know?
Unc decides to explain to the boy just how special he is, as well. First, he explains how Michelangelo would create sculptures from rock and how Michelangelo would say the sculpture was there, it was just waiting to be let out. He goes on to say, “Inside you is a thing worth putting on a pedestal. –worth putting out there for all the world to see. That piece of rock might have been knocked around, roughed up a bit, considered scrap, and thrown on the trash pile…but that’s only because they don’t know what’s on the inside. They can’t see like Michelangelo. Cause, if they could, they’d know that there’s something in there that’s just waiting to jump out. Like there is inside you.”
Now it’s Unc describing a dream he had, “…I had this dream that my life was a rolling canvas. Everyday, it rolled off the sheet, bleached white, onto the beach of my life. Come sunup, I’d begin to paint it over with thoughts and actions. My breathing, my living, and my dying. Some days the pictures pleased me, maybe even pleased others, pleased God Himself, but some days, some months, even some years, they didn’t, and I didn’t ever want to look at them again. But the thing is this…everyday, no matter what I’d painted the day before, I got a new canvas, washed white. Cause each night, the tide rolled in scrubbed it clean, and receded, taking the stains with it. And in my dreams….I just stood on the beach and watched all that stuff wash out to sea…No canvas is ever stained clean through.” I don’t know about you, but this part inspires and encourages me so much. Isn’t amazing how we are given a tomorrow to start over, erase the mistakes from our past. Every day is a new gift, that’s why it’s called the “present” :)
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