EQUATIONS

I didn't think that it was possible, but it has happened. This shatters everything that I knew about myself. Perhaps I'm not the kind of person I thought I was. Know what I'm talking about? Of course not, I haven't told you yet. Here we go. The moment of truth. Ready? Doesn't matter, I'm still telling you. Don't freak out.


I had a deep thought. AHHHH! Clean up on aisle "Robert's life"! Joking. I'm not really that surprised. I knew I had it in me. The moment I said, "SpongeBob is awesome," all those years ago, I knew that one day I would have yet another revelation.

Anyway, here's what I came up with. Actually, here's the background info. In Bible Study Class, we've been talking about attributes of God at the end of every lesson. Most of the time they don't have anything to do with the passage we read. This doesn't mean that we don't come up with some good stuff though. My deep thought proves this. So this Monday (I haven't talked about it sooner because my last post was so long), we talked about God as immutable. Naturally, I had no idea what this meant, since my mind doesn't focus real well on things not related to science, math, or comedy. It means unchangeable. As we talked about this, I thought, "Hmmm. You know what, I think I can relate this to science and math." I sometimes can better remember a message or lesson if I can find an analogy that fits. So that's what I did. I combined theology, science, and math in one little sentence. Alright fine. If you really want me to just jump ahead and tell you, here it is:

God is the constant in the equation of our lives.

Yeah! Alright! Bingo! Jackpot! Score! (etc.)

Sorry, I had to celebrate all over again. Well, there it is. For you don't think that it's deep at all, I willing to bet that you have issues with just about everything, because that sentence is the bomb.
For you who don't understand, I suppose an explanation is required (and even if everyone understands it, I'm explaining anyway because I feel like it).
If you've taken algebra 1 or anything higher, you know that there can be unknown variables. Most of the time we think of "X". Depending on the equation it's in, X can have different values. It's up to us to find out what it is. Later on, you learn that X can have lots of values in more complex equations. Ever heard of the quadratic equation? No? Lucky. It's used to determine X when X is in a difficult equation to solve and using it gives you not one, but TWO possible answers. So if your life can be though of as an equation, and since your life is much more complex than a mathematic equation, how many possible answers do you think there are for X in your life, whatever X may be? Perhaps it's your future husband or wife. Perhaps it's your future job. Perhaps it's if you'll make it to college, which college you'll go to, or if you'll make all the way through.

In science, you learn that certain equations have constants. For example, in the equation for electrostatic force, k always equals 9.0x10^9. Period. End of discussion. It doesn't change even if you say pretty please with a piece of cheese. k never changes. God is like k. He doesn't change. We can rely on him to remain constant even when our lives don't.

That's all. Aren't you glad I made this a separate post?

YAWN

This week was sooooo boring! After a poor grade (as in, a fail) on a lab, I got grounded from the computer for the week. That didn't really affect my blog writing because hardly anything worth writing about happened. Here are some things that I actually cared about:
My Aunt came over. This is the only thing out of this list that was actually enjoyable. I love my aunt because she's so nice and good at having long conversations (plus, I got an early B-day present). Unfortunately, she only got to stay for dinner.
Caleb had some friends over on the weekend. Although I like it when they come over, I had to write a research paper over the weekend, so my time with them was limited. So that wasn't very fun.

That's all. Notice only two things happened worth noting. The rest of the list would be homework, no computer, homework, research paper, homework.

Co-op went well. Physics class is getting better. I think my teacher is finally over the lab that we all didn't do well on. We just went over electric fields and how electricity affects a compass. It was pretty cool.
No drama. That was a low point. I always look forward to it. There was a funeral going on in the Sanctuary where we usually practice and the person who plays our main character was gone.
Oh well. That's life.

Two things not so great happened at co-op. Well, one of them actually happened after co-op, but was co-op related.
First, I played tackle football at gym. That was fun. I owned my soccer playing friend twice in the first two minutes. I guess football isn't as pansy and wimpy as you thought Casey! Take that! However, this morning I got an email saying that the moms did't appreciate it because we played with two girls. In case they didn't notice, we never tackled the girls. It was just wraps, which is like a hug. And I've seen girls and boys at co-op hug each other all the time. The only difference is that we did it while running. Plus, the girls chose to join us of their own free will. But we can't play tackle anymore.
Second, I got yelled at. I popped a balloon and scared the living daylights out of my friend. It was really funny to see him jump. The moms didn't think it was so funny for two reasons. One, they didn't like me popping a balloon in people's faces. My mom tried saying it was dangerous, but that went out the window when I asked why and she said she didn't know. Totally made that excuse up I'm guessing. The mom of my friend said not to pop a balloon in anyone's face anymore. So my balloon popping days are over (but I did get three of them off in only three co-ops!).
Also, aforementioned funeral was still in progress. They said I was too loud and it was inappropriate. Really? I was in a secluded area near the exit while the funeral was far, far away and behind closed doors. Balloons aren't that loud. I think it was all perspective. The room we were in was quiet and everyone was talking in low voices. So to them, I guess it would sound loud. I don't think any moms actually had fun as kids if this kind of thing upsets them.

That's my week. Hope yours was way better.

TEETH AND DEEP THOUGHTS

So yesterday, I got four teeth pulled. Since I'm getting ready to have braces, they needed to make room for my teeth to move and realign. If you haven't seen me before, I have fangs. Almost literally. My incisors are sticking out and are very big. At first I thought it was cool and tried to find some kind of glow in the dark stuff to put on them. No such luck. Now, though, they are annoying. Because the stick out, they don't get used to chew food, thus they've become very big. Whenever I smile I think "Well, now my fangs are showing." I can't wait for my teeth to be fixed!
Anyway, it didn't hurt because I got NINE shots of Novacaine. I don't know if that's spelled right. But even if it isn't, it wore off eventually. So now I'm taking medicine at every meal. Plus, I constantly have a little bit of blood in my mouth. When I woke, it was all I could taste until I brushed my teeth.

Other than that, I'm fine. I made my B-day list today. My birthday isn't even for a couple months and Mom is already telling me to make one. I don't have much that I want, except for some video games and movies and gift cards. When I was ten or so, I used to make lists that took up a whole piece of paper. Usually filled with Legos. I still love Legos, but I haven't gotten any for several years, so I stopped putting them on my list. Why bother adding stuff that will only make it harder to see what I really want?
I guess my life is kind of like that. I add all this stuff to my life and it gets in the way of letting others see what I value most in life. I try to be "cool", but it doesn't really work because I'm so nerdy. I take pride in being nerdy, but sometimes I get tired of doing well in school and not being able to be "cool". I know that being cool doesn't matter but like I said, I let stuff get in the way. I don't really know how I appear to others. Am I a prideful student? A genius? A show-off? A hard worker? A bore? I try to be all the good things but the bad things get in the way and I have to wonder if others have ever seen who I really am. Do I myself know who I really am?

Got to stop now. My brain doesn't like deep thoughts. They make my head hurt (or maybe that's just my teeth aching).

TIRED

Today, I am tired. I got home from Sonrise Retreat on Sunday. This retreat is a camp from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon for adults with mental disabilities (autism, down syndrome, etc.). No, I'm not saying that I'm autistic. Each camper is paired with a volunteer, which is what I was. A Sonrise Retreat is a mini version of one of the week long camps in the summer, called Handy Camp. It sounds really boring, but it actually is lots of fun. The campers usually aren't as handicapped as you think. They're always playing around, playing practical jokes on other campers and volunteers. It's a blast.
I love the camp for several reasons. One, I love the atmosphere of the camp. It's never gloomy, even the day when you leave. People are always smiling and don't yell at you (most of the time. the campers sometimes argue with you, but that's to be expected). Two, it teaches you about serving. This is probably the best service event I have ever done and may ever do. I seriously recommend it to anyone who is interested in helping others. I always come away satisfied. Yes, it's harder than most other events, but it's also much more enjoyable. Three, it improves my faith. The camps are run by LDM, Lutheran Disabilities Ministry. All the camps are Christian themed and include singing and dancing in praise before meals, lots of praying, and having a Christian attitude in general. Whenever I go, I learn something that helps me in my walk with God. And it isn't always something taught by one of the directors. The campers teach you all kinds of things as you go through the camp.

Anyway, the camp is intense. It's basically giving you an adult and saying, "Here you go. Be a friend to this person for three days (or a week for the longer camps). Let them have fun, help them out whenever necessary, and teach them about God. Stay up late and get up early. Help them shower, get dressed, eat, do activities, get places, etc. Never stop having a good attitude. Be prepared to be on your feet most of the time."

And so I'm tired. Since I had co-op today, I'm extra exhausted. And I've still got Bible study tonight. Fun! NOT! I don't know why I'm still taking that class. I already go to Sunday school and youth group and have daily devotions. And Handy Camp definitely counts as a Bible study class, a week long one! Oh well.

WOW

Wow. I can't believe how long it's been since my last post. It's partly my fault. Actually it's totally my fault. First, I got grounded. So in the middle of writing a post, my mom comes in and grounds me. I've forgotten why now. It happened so far back that it's almost ancient history. Here's the hypothetical paragraph from the history book:
Mystery in History #094-
No one quite knows what led to the grounding of Robert Harris. Shortly after the incident Robert forgot the cause of his cruel punishment. We do have some clues. First, there is a noticeable absence of blog posts during the period of punishment. Also, there was a considerable lack of video game playing. Finally, he spent less time on his email than usual. From these observations, we can guess that since his punishment banned him temporarily from using the computer, the cause of his horrible torture was related to computers. The most probable cause is the overuse of the computer, although it may be that he was on the computer during school hours. In the end, the grounding of Robert Harris is a mystery that may never be solved.

How was that? Do you think I could make it as a historian? No, I don't think so either.

So what's happened to me lately? Well, not much. Sure, I've had lots of homework, but it really wasn't that much more than the usual. I watched the Olympics (some of them anyway). I especially like watching the skiing. Now that I've skied, I realize how hard it is. I also enjoyed watching the snowboarding. Unfortunately, my sister seems to have made some sort of deal with my mom, so she always picks what we watch. Usually it's ice dancing and stuff like that. So boring!

Hmmm. I think it's time for me to say something Christian-like. I'm a little overdue.
Today, I'll choose a topic that I just read in my devotion this morning. You must know that I've started a new way of doing devotions. First, I get a piece of paper with words. Any words. Then, I close my eyes and move my finger back and forth over the paper and at some point stop. Whatever letter my finger stops on, I choose a book in the Bible that starts with that same letter. I then just start at the beginning. Every time I choose a book I've done before, I just read the next chapter or two. I figure I'll get the most variety of topics that way.
Today, I stopped on "A", so I could either do Amos or Acts. I chose Amos because hardly anyone reads it. I did the first two chapters.
In this part, he talks about the Lord's punishment of Israel's neighbors because of their actions. For example, because Tyre "sold whole communities of captives to Edom, disregarding a treaty of brotherhood (Amos 1:9b)." God decided to "send fire upon the walls of Tyre that will consume her fortresses (Amos 1:10)." This is what the prophet (guess who) Amos declared to Israel. Of course, they probably loved this. It's like saying that the Patriots will go bankrupt and the team won't exist anymore. Or that all the scotch tape factories will burn and only duct tape factories will remain.
Then Amos hits them with a big one. He declares the punishment of Israel itself for it's sins. He lists more sins of Israel than any other nation. They neglected and oppressed the poor and were sexually immoral. In doing so, they violated God's laws. As a result, Amos said that God will "crush you as a cart crushes when loaded with grain (Amos 2:13)."

I see two lessons to be gained here.
1: God holds us to a higher standard than others. While the crimes He lists for the foreigners are crimes against humanity, the crimes He lists for the Israelites are crimes that go against God's commands. As Christians, we are held accountable not only to human laws, but to God's laws. Just because the world thinks our actions are acceptable, God doesn't. There are consequences for disobeying, even if you are God's chosen people.
2: God commands us to care for others. The majority of the crimes listed for Israel have to do with oppressing the poor. In Matthew 22:39, Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to love you neighbor as yourself. In John 15:12, he says "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." The way we treat others should reflect how Jesus loved us. He loved us enough to die on the cross for us. Ignoring the needs of the poor doesn't show that love, does it?

That's all right now (oh dear, another long post). Hope you learned something you could apply. Maybe to take care of those less fortunate, maybe to not be on the computer when you shouldn't be, or maybe to love each other like Jesus loved us.
Whatever you do, stay away from carts loaded with grain. They might crush you.

QUICK CATCH UP

So far, not much has happened. Except that on the way home from skiing, I found out that I had 13 days to write a five minute speech. Actually, only 9-10, because then I have to memorize it. Well, today is almost over and I haven't even started writing it. Its day 9. And with the Super Bowl coming in a couple days, I won't be able to work on it very much, unless I skip watching it (I would rather burn duct tape than skip the Super Bowl!). Monday is packed with co-op and bible study. So, tonight I will have to write my speech.

Other than that, life is the same. I earned $60 babysitting today. I only keep $24, but that's still a little more than what I usually get in one month. And I'm doing it again next week! Whew. I'm not broke anymore.

Got to go. My speech is calling me. It's a long distance call. From hell.

FRIENDSHIP

Today, I learned about friendship. In literature class (ugh) we talked about the characters in Julius Caesar. We discussed how Brutus made friends with the wrong people. Instead of hanging around those with the same virtues: honor, loyalty, service, etc., he chose to be with friends who had a bad influence on him. They pressured him into betraying one of his closest friends (killing him).

It reminded me of the situations we face every day. We all have friends, but how many of them are good for us? It's like eating food. The bad stuff usually tastes better than the good stuff. But eat enough of the junk food and eventually you become sick. The problem is, you can't stop eating it. You've become addicted to it, and it has become natural to eat it.

I have many friends. Five I consider to be my best friends. Two of them are part of The Three Musketeers, and the others live in Minnesota. They are the healthy food. Most of my other friends also fit into the healthy food category. I have several that I consider the "in between group". While not necessarily healthy, they aren't exactly junk food either. They aren't my first choice to hang out with, but I will if they're the only ones around. Then I have three friends who make the junk food list. I don't really go searching for them, but I willingly hang out with them some of the time despite how they've influenced me. Now, I'm not saying that they're bad people. I've known them long enough to know that they are capable of doing good things. Unfortunately, most of the time they talk about things that shouldn't be talked about, have bad attitudes toward school, and don't seems to try very hard. I must say that recently, I've seen one of them get a little "healthier". But they still have a ways to go.

The issue is whether or not to be friends with them. Having known them for many years, it's hard to imagine to just stop being with them. Part of me thinks that I'm now mature enough to resist their bad influences, but many times I have failed to do so. Another part says that I can affect them the way they affect me, only in a good way. Perhaps if I show them how beneficial it is to work hard, study hard, and do the right thing, then they'll change. Then I read the Bible it seems like the only choice I have is to end my relationship with them.
Here's a list of Bible verses to support this:
Proverbs 12:26
Proverbs 13:20
Proverbs 24:1,2
1 Corinthians 15:33

There are others, but these are the ones I choose. They all talk about choosing friends wisely and that junk food friends will affect your behavior. OOPS. Notice however, that the Bible just said not to associate yourself with them. It didn't say I couldn't try to improve their behavior. In fact, God loves it when we try to help others do what's right.

Right now, I think I'm going to slowly start to limit my contact with them. I'll do things like sit with someone else at lunch (if possible), don't hang around between classes with them, and don't stick around when they start talking about what class/teacher/homework assignment/person they don't like. At the same time, I need to increase by level of good behavior. I need to make sure that I have a positive influence on the junk food friends, but also on others lest they start to treat me like junk food.

Sorry about my rambling. I just felt like this was important to say. Hope you have a great weekend!