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!

MUTAZALLIJ

That word is the Arabic word for "skier". So you can probably guess what I'm going to do. No, you're wrong. I'm not going to dance a waltz while eating Jello atop a pile of books and sing "Jesus loves me". I'm going skiing (tomorrow).

I love skiing. I love the wind in my face as I rush downhill. I love the adrenaline rush. I love the physical exertion. I love laughing as my friends fall down. I even love falling down myself. It seems like every time I fall I get better. This is true of many aspects of life. It's easy to fall and get discouraged. We give up because we think, "Why get up just to fall down. It hurts!" So we just leave ours skis behind and go inside. But what we need to remember is that we don't have to get up and continue on our own. God is always there to give us a push and get us back to the top of the slope.

Where was I? Oh right, skiing. I'm going with my two other buddies. That's right: The Three Musketeers are going skiing! The ski poles are so fun to fight duels with. Ever tried fighting for your life while trying not to fall? I have. Unfortunately, the slope usually ends before the conflict is resolved.

I figure that I'm in the intermediate range. I can do all the easy and medium slopes, plus one hard slope.

Today, my school work load is pretty light. And when I say pretty light, I mean "AHHHHHHH!" I have so much work to do. So I must leave now. Please stop screaming. Throwing tantrums won't keep me on the computer.

PAGING

Today, I was a page. No, not a page as in the medieval boy who served and later became a squire, then a knight. As much as I wish I was that kind of page, instead I was the kind that runs errands for Indiana representatives. I categorized and alphabetized letters, carried a heavy box for ten minutes, delivered a couple messages during a session, and on the odd occasion, sat down and rested. The only thing that made it bearable was having my friends there.

Tonight, I will rest up for tomorrow's school day. Hopefully, I can watch The Matrix on TV. This is the first night I've managed to find it playing at a reasonable time, 8-11 pm, and on a day that I can afford to stay up a little late. Of course, this seems contradictory to my desire to rest up, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

Today reminded me that it is important to pray for our leaders. Their job is very important to this nation. I hope that God helps them make wise decisions (like don't allow abortion).

final word: are you wondering where that post L,L,L (take a guess what this means) is? I have sent an email to my youth pastor, asking him for his format. Unable to create my own version, I have resorted to asking the person I first heard it from.

VIVA LA REVALUCION!!

So, yesterday, we stayed home and did nothing. Well, mostly. I did go shopping to buy a new pair of jeans (finally), go to the book store (I bought Saving Private Ryan which is an amazing WWII movie, and a Star Wars guide to droids), go to Office Depot, Aldis, and then go to Papa Murphy's to pick up a couple pizzas. Other than that, I stayed home and rewrote history.

Let me explain: there's and awesome game called Empire Total War. It's a turn based strategy game. You get to run your empire and control your units in battle. Jealous already aren't you? Currently, the British (me) have defeated the Americans in the War for Independence, conquered all of North and South America, defeated the ruling empires in India, and destroyed France, Spain, Italy, and a host of other nations. Tally ho mate!

Today, I went to Sunday school as usual. Devin still is at church. However, those that are against the vote we had last Sunday gathered at an office building and we talked about a new church. So far, we are called "Spirit of Joy Church". There are a bunch of issues to discuss and vote on, so it'll be a while until we are settled down. I'm pumped though. God is doing some cool stuff right now. His plan is starting to show. My title comes from a thought I had. Going to the meeting, I felt like it was a rebellion. I almost stood up and yelled, "Viva la revalucion!" But I didn't. Because that would be immature. And I wouldn't dare do anything immature (wink wink).

I saw the Colts win last night. Pretty awesome. We had them beat since the beginning. Totally called it.

MY BAD

So, apparently Frank Sinatra didn't write that stupid song that says it's a wonderful world. My bad. I still don't like the song or Franky boy.