Summer

Well, kids, it's been quite the school year. But that's all done and gone now. It's summer break and I'll probably not post much. I'll be off doing something more fun, more worthwhile. But, just so you know, here are my summer plans:

- I'm going to Maine (a 23 hour drive, by the way)
- I'm doing VBS at my church
- I'm going to church camp and World Changers
- I'm going camping with everyone like back in the old days (my aunt, uncle, cousins, cousin-in-law, siblings, brother-in-law, and the Beckers). I will be a classic Dobson-Schwartz-Becker camping trip, with Peeps and everything
- I'm going hiking/camping with my friends
- I'm doing more hiking with whoever
- I'm sleeping... alot

Well there you go. Hope your summer is grand! Sayonara!

Sarah

Pretty much...

 

I am officially ready for school to be over.

Sarah

Getting on my soap box...

Ok. I don't have a lot of time so I'm going to sum it up and preach my word and then go. So, this bad boy wants into my school, right? Inappropriate messages to girls, drugs, the whole kit and caboodle. His parents have nothing else to do but try to get him into our private Christian school and try to find someone there to almost mentor him as well as teach him. (I don't know the whole story, I'm just picking up bits and pieces). So here we are, deciding whether or not to let this kid in and some people are worried they'll let him in. They don't want that kid in our school because it will put the rest of the students around a bad influence, or they don't want to deal with him, whatever, whatever. My reaction: WHAT THE FREAKING CRAP???!!! Excuse my urgency but SERIOUSLY?! You call yourself a Christian???? I know I sound like I'm being harsh but honestly, HONESTLY! Of all the schools this kid could possibly go to, Fideles Christian School should be the best! What better place is there for a messed up teen to go to than a place where he is surrounded by Christians who can encourage him and help him??? That is what Christianity is about!!! Do you think the point of being a follower of God is to hole up in this secret club that no one else can join??? NO! We are supposed to be there for the broken and lost and  confused people! I don't care if it makes you a little uncomfortable (oh, heaven forbid holy us be uncomfortable), this is God's COMMAND! And do you seriously think all 100 of us are going to turn into Satan worshipers because this one kid came to our school??? A Christian school should be a refuge for the kids that nobody wants, not a desperate last resort or place of judgement. It amazes me all the time how screwed up our "Christianity" is  today. We are so flipping lazy and selfish and unconcerned with anyone but our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ (and hardly that!). I hope with all of my heart that this kid comes to our school. I hope God will give me the honor of encouraging him and maybe changing him a bit for the better. That would just make my life. Now please don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to have a holier-than-thou rant, I'm just totally outraged right now and have to get all of this out. These people make me sick. These "Christians" ought to rethink who they truly follow. This all sounds harsh, and maybe it is, but maybe that's what they need! I am almost shaking with anger... I have never seen such hypocritical behavior...

I have to go finish homework. Sorry to freak out on you then leave, but I really don't have time. Bye!

Things I learned in New York City

1. Never, EVER ride stand-by at the airport (spending 12 hours in the airport waiting to get on a flight, getting stranded in D.C., yeah, it was a mess)

2. Don't try to walk down six flights of stairs while exhausted... you will get very dizzy

3. Dogs pee on the sidewalks in NYC

5. The only people who ever go to Times Square are tourists (that also goes for the Empire State, standing outside of Good Morning America, etc.)

6. Subways are a gift from God when you've been walking all day

7. It is impossible to find bagels in airports

8. Airports suck

9. Cities back at the turn-of-the-century were really, really dangerous

10. There is a way to be assertive yet polite

11. When you go into the back of a store in Chinatown, you do not come out until you have a Michael Kors bag, Chanel perfume, and Tiffany jewelry... all fakes, of course

12. Modern art is simply misunderstood... it's really very amazing and they say a lot

13. In extension, I love most modern art

14. Even recently constructed buildings don't have a level 13

15. There really isn't much great food in NYC... if you want some amazing food, go to Chicago :)

No time

Just a quick update while I have a moment. I've been super busy because of huge projects, tests, homework, etc., etc. Good news is that I'm done with the driving classes and I only have two more days until I am flying to New York City! The funny thing is, we keep finding these news articles about airplane pilots who flipped out and said there was a bomb on board (he had to be restrained by the passengers!), and a woman who went crazy and attacked the crew members, scratching and kicking them. It figures everyone in the aviation business would go insane right before we fly out. Oh well, we'll pray for the best and be ready to tackle whoever freaks out next.

I wish you all a good week and spring break!

Sarah

p.s. I got two new books: The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway and The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. I'm reading Hemingway now and so far I'm loving it. It is so obvious that it is written by a man. It's great!

In time...

These next two weeks are going to suck pretty badly, but after that life is going to be so much better! For this approaching fortnight I'm going to have my hands full with school, stupid SAT prep classes, even worse driving classes, and bunches of homework and tests.

However, right after this interval of slavery comes a week of glorious freedom! Spring break is going to be so nice because it marks the end of my SAT prep classes, the end of my driving classes, a short reprieve from school (not to mention I'll be going to NYC! ah!), and the beginning of my 16th year. I am so ready to be able to drive by myself and give blood. Yeah, call me weird but what I'm looking forward to the most about being 16 (besides getting my license) is being able to give blood. After April 10th, I'm driving myself to the nearest blood drive. It'll be great! :)

Anyway, I need to go. Have a good weekend because the Lord knows I won't haha ;)

Sarah

Books are special friends

I was revisited today by an old friend, Lord of the Flies. It wasn't that long ago that I read it, but it still seems too long. I flipped through it, read certain parts that I love, and realized how truly good it is. William Golding is brilliant writer. His book is full of symbolism and morals and lessons to be learned, yet it is still an entertaining, adventurous and extremely well written story. It slowly grows on you as you read and eventually becomes a close, wise friend. You realize how much you love it when you pick it up. It's not like the Hunger Games trilogy which fills you with immediate, frenzied passion to find out the end of the story, but is a consistent, modest fondness that is easily forgotten (however it will resurface every time you pick up the book).

I don't know, it is something to observe. This year I am going to be reading plenty of classics and I am wondering if they will all have this effect. Do our books today give us temporary highs and show us different lives but don't teach us different lessons? I feel like classic books are wiser than the ones today. They say something, they have a purpose. Is that lacking in books today? I don't know. It's an interesting question that I hope I can find the answer to.

Sarah

MAKE KONY FAMOUS

Watch it, watch it, watch it, watch it, watch it, watch it, Watch it, watch it, watch it, watch it, watch it, watch it, Watch it, watch it, watch it, watch it, watch it, watch it, Watch it, watch it, watch it, watch it, watch it, watch it, Watch it, watch it, watch it, watch it, watch it, watch it, it's long but for the sake of all things good and beautiful, watch it!

WATCH ME

Now spread the word!!! Make him famous! We can end this THIS year! I made that pledge at the 25 event: "We've seen these kids, we hear their cries! This war must end! We will not stop! We will not fear! We will fight war!!"

I intend to keep my promise. Will you help?

Sarah

My life consists of...

Jesus Christ
School
Homework
Sleep
Yoga
Listening to music
Homework
Hiking
Homework
Homework

Life? I have no life. On a random note, though, I have fallen in love. Yes, I am totally and unmistakeably in love. With whom? Oh, I think you mean with what. Yeah, it's not a person, it's a band, The Tree Ring. Oooh my goodness it's the best. Look 'em up, kiddos, they're super cool. Anyway, I'm going to go smear some paint on my notebook and call it art. See ya!

Sarah

I love America

So, you know how everyone has been talking about how America is just headed downhill (for many reasons) and - if you're lucky enough to be surrounded by such relentless cynics as I am - how it will eventually fall? I have come  to a conclusion regarding that attitude. I am convinced that if we are to ever fall, it will be due to the people and not the government. I think it would be because of two main things the people would possess: apathy and lack of patriotism. I mean, look around, people are always talking bad about our government, our leaders. You rarely hear someone praising our country. If it's not government, it's the economy. If it's not the economy, it's politics. If it's not politics, it's the obesity of us all. If it's not our obesity, it's the Mexicans (you know it's true). Everyone disses the country, even us kids.

And what's worse, we don't do anything about it! We sit and complain and point out everything the government doesn't do perfectly, yet we don't act or offer a solution. It's true that through petitioning we have avoided the threat of censorship, but I personally know several people who simply chose not to sign it. And the only reason people actually protested those legislations was because it would have interfered with our Facebooks, Youtubes, and photo editing websites. What about other problems that are still evident, but do not affect our immediate lives, like the immigration problem? Sure, we shout and whine about how badly the government is handling it but do we have a better idea to offer? Nope. People like that irritate me to no end. People who have a voice and choose not to use it, however, irritates me even more.

I'm not saying rebel or anything, I'm saying shut up unless you have the solution (and if you do, please suggest it to those in power), and for the sake of all things good and beautiful, love your own country! America is an amazing country, the best in the world! It has such a respectable history that I am so proud of. Destruction will only come if we let it.

Sarah

Lord of the Flies

Wow. I just finished reading Lord of the Flies and... wow. It was very, very good. It was so, shockingly realistic that it was almost disconcerting. William Golding was an excellent writer. His style had this sort of eloquence to it, even while describing violence and despair. The book was hard to get into for the first half, you had to force your way through the beginning where the plot was being set up. However the ending was enough to make it worth it.

It did teach me something. I tend to be more of an activists, I tend to want to break (or at least bend) the rules. Lord of the Flies, though, shows what happens without rules. After the initial rejoicing, after respect for the law has been broken, what comes? It shows you how critically, critically important civilization and law is.

I would definitely recommend this book.

Sarah

Scripture and a statement

Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord." - 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. - Galatians 5:1

 

Sarah

You know something is seriously wrong when even the Christians feel the weight of judgement from other Christians...

Things have got to change.

Fine Line

A lot of my favorite music consists of small, underground bands that have just started like High Dive and Nana Grizol. Partly why I like them is because of their lyrics; they're simplistically poetic, they're relevant and they include good morals. It's easy to go along with their words and agree with them. They are part of a whole group of young people who see the flaws of the world and accept them as well as try to change them. It is right up my alley and it seems very good. In fact, it seems very much like Christianity.

However, as a Christian, I see the few glaring differences that are far from what the Bible says. See, these people want to eliminate barriers, any sort of segregation. They accept all religions, all sexualities, all language, all races, all ages, everything. They show benevolence to everyone, they are far from greedy, they are generous, they are honest, they are themselves. They love. It is all so wonderful except for that first part. They are very accepting of homosexuality and any religion you could be. That is very much the opposite of God's teachings.

I guess for me, when I heard about these people, I sort of thought that finally man discovered the truth, that although there are some blemishes, we finally unearthed the key to peace, to harmony. It seemed so good. However, that thought was very false. Truth is not a secret that is hidden in us somewhere that people have just been too busy to look for. Truth is not a philosophy, nor a lifestyle. It is not conjured, uncovered, or constructed. God is truth. God is the only way we might know what truth is. If something in any way contradicts what the Bible says (even though it's so close), it is not the truth.

So as bad as it seems disagreeing with these wonderful people's ideology, I have to. It was hard to come to that conclusion because it was so, so easy to just accept their principals as a whole, ignoring the small problem areas. But there you go. That is what has been floating around in my head. What's been going through yours?

Sarah

p.s. I'm still going to listen to their music, though, because it rocks! :)

I think I'm in love

Ear cuffs... I need to get one soon... or... or something bad will happen.

 

Take a stand against censorship. Sign the petition to stop SOPA and PIPA at https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/

Winter Jam

Tomorrow I'm going to Winter Jam with two of my friends. We are semi-planning on meeting up with a friend that I haven't actually seen in a year and a half, but I've talked to a lot. It's going to be awkward. I'm hoping we can find some way to avoid it because, as much as I love awkwardness, this may be a little too weird. Oh well, above all else, I'm looking forward to having fun and listening to great bands. Hope you all are having a great weekend! Stay warm!

Sarah

p.s. I'd much rather be hiking a mountain right now... I'm so bored...

Hope

People tend to have this mindset these days. This mindset that the world is spiraling toward destruction and the end of the world (or at least the decline of America) will arrive very soon. Most people have this mindset, even if they're ignorant of it.

It's depressing. It's cynical.

My question is, why don't people hope? Does no one believe that something great and wonderful will happen in the future? I do.

God is hope.
We need God.
We need hope.
God is here.
Hope is here.

Never give up on the future.

Sarah

Encouragment!

So I submitted the beginning of this little story I wrote to Teen Ink and a few days ago it was put on the website. Today I got an email saying that someone commented on it and rated it. They said it was good and interesting and gave me 4 out of 5 stars! I probably seem like I'm bragging and I don't mean to but I'm just so happy! :D Yay!

Sarah

You may not know...

I never have to pee when I first wake up
I love the smell of puppy paws
I have two cavities that need to be filled
I never go to the dentist
I hate pretty much all doctors
I'm not afraid of surgery or death
I handle the deaths of others unusually well
I am a hypocrite
I tend to be flighty, especially about boys
I am incredibly indecisive
I am going to run away one day
When I watch wedding shows, it makes me want to elope
I think I take too much pride in my faults
I dream of never settling down, of traveling all the days of my life and never having a set home
I am fascinated by moral dilemmas
I can't spell facinated... fasinated... fascinated to save my life
I want to prove to people that we are stronger than we give ourselves credit for
I can be extremely judgmental and I hate myself when I am
I have a bad habit of ignoring problems that are hard to deal with
I am constantly in awe of the stars

Sarah

Hey, it's a leap year

This is a special year. It's the end of the world, the end of Obama's presidency, and a leap year! I think we can safely expect great things.

My resolution:
read all of the books on my list in one year
go rock climbing
go white water rafting
sleep on Mount Yonah
learn archery
finish a story

My main one is reading all the books on my list. The others are just things I'd like to do. I may not do all of them but even if I just do one of them that'd be great with me!

Oh well, bye!

Sarah