Through the Living Hope

I don't know who needs to hear this but

Just because you may be feeling broken, remember, a kaleidoscope is also made from broken parts. When you look through it, you see something beautiful

Every year, my youth group plays this big game the night before Thanksgiving. It's called Apocalypse Night, or just the Apocalypse, and it's basically a cross between laser tag, capture the flag, cops vs robbers, hide and seek, flag football, mazes, etc. There are three teams (the people on your team are the same every round, but your team color and goal can sometimes change, and there are four groups of people) - the blue, green, and red teams. The red team is the size of the blue and green teams combined (I know how to math) and their goal is to turn everyone to the red team by pulling a flag from their hip (used to be called the zombie team). In the game's history, the red team has done this less than three times. The blue and green teams are basically the same. They are looking all over the building for their team's canisters (glowing neon water bottle). These teams need to find three of their color canisters and take them to the "chamber" (a bucket hidden somewhere in the building) to save the world. They cannot touch or hide the other color canisters and they cannot mix the colors to fill the chamber.

I smell a book that I'm gonna write. More accurately, started writing then forgot about and am now going to pick up again.

So, I'm writing a story, and I want a bit of feedback on it. It's going to be a three-part series, and this is the basic skeletal structure:

Book 1: Two people from the opposite sides of a war get amnesia and swap places, and actually change sides. By the end, they are friends (initially without realizing that they are on opposing sides) and by the end they are taken back to their original sides

Book 2: Internal conflict of "I like these people now but I was apparently with these people before what should I do?" on both sides

Book 3: Not in the war anymore but get dragged back into it to end it once and for all

Obviously I'm glazing over a bunch of details and I'm only partway through writing book one but anyways thoughts?

Do you guys ever think about how weird it would be to have the traits of a lizard? I mean, yeah, scales, tongue, but that's not what I'm talking about. Some species of lizards and geckos can make their tails fall off as a distraction to predators. Just imagine: You're walking in a school hallway when someone starts bullying you. You start to feel threatened and you make your butt fall off. As the bully is fixated on the butt in horror and confusion and isn't paying attention to YOU anymore, you can now leave.

Okay. We need to talk.

Look at this shirt.

Now look at these pants.

Taking only color into account, they look horrible together.

But if you have JEANS of the SAME COLOR

They look fine together.

So in my creative writing class, we started our poetry unit today. My teacher gave us six pictures and had us write a poem about one of them. I did this picture:

So this is what I wrote, want help naming it, though:

Crunch

Snow is wet

Owls almost loud

Beam reflecting off the wet

Beam reflecting off the snow

Berry falls

plop

On head

Branch drags behind

Needles poke my wrist

Why? I’m wearing gloves

Cold wet seeps into boots

Cold snow seeps into boots

Rabbit sees, scampers away

We were so close

Now two sets of tracks

Exist in the wet

Exist in the snow

In the cold

Between the trees

And the falling wet

Snow

Another step

Another

Crunch

Sky is dark

Mountains are not

Stars are not

Stars are rice on a black sheet

Needles and berries are not

Needles and berries are decorations on a tablecloth

Snow is not

Snow is blinding

Snow is wet

But bark is dark

So is sky

Grass pokes up

Would sway,

If not for the wet

If not for the snow

Cold and stiff, yes

But strong

Resilient

Doesn’t care what cold says

Doesn’t care what wet says

Doesn’t care what snow says

Doesn’t care what anything says

Just grows

Grows

Grows

Higher and higher

Even through the wet

Even through the snow

Moon glows

A spot of light

In a sky of dark

Almost enough to turn off the beam

But not quite

Still too dark

Even if just a little

Still too dark

Wool itches

Boots begin to cold

In the wet

In the snow

Coat for my body

Scarf for my face

Hat for my ears

Gloves for my hand

Needle prick

Boots shouldn’t be cold

Boots should be warm

I need new boots

Thanks to the wet

Thanks to the snow

Nose turns red

Red like berries

So do ears

So do cheeks

Eyes feel frozen

Frozen like wet

Frozen like snow

So does mouth

So do fingers

So do toes

I really like where I live. There's not a ton of out-of-state tourists often, which is kind of nice. There's small towns and big cities close by. There's really only one thing that I would change if I could... and that's the freaking weather.

We like to say that where I live has twelve seasons:

1. Winter
2. Fool's Spring
3. Second Winter
4. Spring of Deception
5. Third Winter
6. The Pollening
7. Actual Spring (which lasts about three days)
8. Summer
9. Heck's Front Porch (we are here now)
10. False Fall
11. Second Summer
12. Actual Fall

I don't like extreme conditions. Perfect weather for me is 65-75 F with no clouds and a slight breeze. We are not there now.

Time for some community participation! If you know the next line, add it on to the last:

He's a semi-aquatic egg laying mammal of action (doo bee doo bee doo bah doo bee doo bee doo bah)

I don't know but I've been told

The rebels need to be controlled

We'll round them up and put 'em all in stocks

But first we've gotta get Darth Vader socks

It's so not fair!

I mean, why am I still on sock detail when Gladys from Accounting got promoted and she doesn't even know how to hold a blaster? No, I mean, really, she failed that part of the exam four times. She held it backwards and upside down. But no, she's a second cousin of some mid-level Darth, and so she gets a promotion? What about me? If they would just open up their eyes, they'd see that I've got everything it takes, I could be the stormiest stormtrooper evaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!

Imagine if Mistborn wore flip flops instead of going barefoot. They don't have any metal in them.

• Kelsier falls from the sky in hot pink flip flops
• The skaa cower in fear as the mists close in for the night, whispering about mistborn and mistwraiths. They jump in shock and panic as the sudden ominous sound echoes from their rooftop..... whap whap whap whap whap whap whap

This is what your favorite original trilogy Mistborn character says about you.

Kelsier: You're choosing the safest option. Maybe a little bit overrated, but it's still a good one.

OreSeur: OKAY! WE GET IT! YOU LIKE THIS ONE!

Elend: This may not be everyone's favorite, but it's yours, and you're totally chill about it.

Ham: You're into the classics.

Tindwyl: You're old.

Clubs: You're really old.

Lord Renoux: Your social security number is 2.

TenSoon: You are one pretentious hipster.

Reen: Officer, it's this one. Right here.

Sazed: Oh, you're cool. I like you.

Zane: No way - you actually know that one? Can we be friends?!

Alendi: This one's just a phase, you'll grow out of it when you grow up.

Breeze: You will NEVER grow up.

Marsh: Oh, you picked this one to be different, how clever.

Lord Ruler: If you chose this one, you are a liar. This is no one's favorite.

Spook: If you chose this one, you are correct. This is the best one.

And for those of you in the comments saying "Where's this one? Where's that one?"

You're annoying.

Hope y'all had a great week, and hope you have a good end to the school year!

Anyways here's an AI generated photo of Chris Pratt playing soccer at a volcano while wearing a NASCAR suit

So some of you may have seen from my comments on others' updates (especially Insa's) my posting Bible verses or things relating to Christianity. I understand that some of you may not agree with my beliefs. But I want to give my testimony so you all know why I can be so sure that this is true. And once I've told my story, I'll tell what I want to move on to next, and how I know it's going to happen.

Growing up, I mentally acknowledged God. My dad was raised Catholic, and my mom was non-denominational. For my second birthday (at least I think that was the one), I got the Beginner's Bible from my grandma. So on some level I've always known God.

But my family didn't go to church. Both my parent's work schedules were crazy and we never got plugged in to a church. It was also rarely talked about, so we didn't make much progress.

In January 2020, one of my grandparents had a heart attack. Fortunately, my grandparent survived. That really sparked my parents' desire to find a church. 

And then, March 2020! We all know what happened then. My mom's work closed so she was home more. That got rid of our excuse to not be looking for a church.

Near the end of December 2019, there was a shooter at a church in Texas. The shooter was taken down by armed members of that church's congregation. That story was connected to a church in my town. 

So for two weeks, we watched a livestream that the church in my town did (this isn't the actual name of the church, but for simplicity's sake let's call it Home Church). The second livestream we watched, the pastor made an announcement that Home Church did drive-in services on Sundays (you stayed in your vehicle in the church parking lot and tuned in to a local radio station that he was preaching on). From then on, we started to do the drive-ins.

On Easter that year, it was really gloomy and rainy. It would have been completely understandable for the pastor do not do a drive-in service that week and just do a livestream. But that's not what happened.

He preached out of the back of a U-Haul trailer. That's how we knew... this is where we need to be.

Once everything opened back up in our town, we started attending the services in person. And it was either June 14 or June 21 that I made the decision to surrender everything to Christ. I was baptized on a youth group retreat in July that focused on loving others.

Within a few months, we were plugged in serving in Home Church. My mom was a greeter. My dad served on the worship team and in the sound booth. I served in the nursery and eventually started helping in children's church as well.

Spring break, March 2021. My youth group went on the first retreat of that year. The retreat was focused on redefining Christianity from a religious checklist to a relationship with God. One of the nights of the retreat we were in a time of prayer. I was kneeling on the ground when I suddenly felt a wind come rushing into my chest. And you could say "Oh, it was just the AC that you were feeling!" If it was air conditioning, I would have felt it in my whole body. A wind came from above and flowed into my chest, and only my chest. I told the youth pastor's wife about the experience once the prayer time was thinning out. She got the youth pastor, and then and there we prayed for me to receive the gift of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And I know that He came.

A few months later (either June or July), the youth group went on another retreat, this one focused on us being multiple members of one body. On the last day of that retreat, we were in another time of prayer. This was the first time I ever prayed in tongues. I hadn't before because I was overthinking. I like being able to understand things, and this was something I couldn't understand. I finally stopped trying to understand and just released my unknown language.

Now we're going to go back a little bit. In late March, early April 2021, Home Church had a guest speaker from Nigeria. On the last day the speaker was here, I came to a realization.

At that time, I had been nearsighted for about six years. And on the last day the guest speaker was there, I realized... Jesus never healed blurred eyes. He healed blind ones.

Let me make this analogy: cancer has multiple stages, from one to four, with four being the worst. What if eyesight was the same? What if there were varying levels of blindness - nearsightedness, farsightedness, both of the two, and actual blindness?

So I decided I was seeking for the Lord to restore my eyesight to perfect 20/20 vision.

And I can tell, over the past however long it's been since then, I can tell my eyesight has improved a bit. My glasses started to overcorrect a little (which is why I stopped wearing contacts). But it's just been little by little.

Every now and then, I started to hear little whispers from the enemy in my mind. "It's not going to happen. Just stop seeking." And then, this next one requires a bit of explanation. I wholeheartedly believe that we are living in the final moments of the Last Days before the Rapture, the catching up of God's people into heaven, when millions of true believers will disappear in the blink of an eye. So one of the whispers I sometimes heard was "We're already so close to the end. Why would God heal your eyes when we're already this close? Just wait until you get to heaven."

But. My mother was born half deaf, and Jesus opened her ear. My dad had suffered from acid reflux for years, and he had been delivered from that. Not to mention all the testimonies I've heard from guest speakers around the world, which I can list at the end of my testimony. Whenever I hear that second whisper, I think, "If we're so close to the end, then why do other people get their healings and miracles? I will have restored vision, so get thee behind me, Satan - you have no power over me."

And that's the basics of it. If you want to get plugged in to "Home Church", you are all welcome to message me privately and ask anything, and I will answer to the best of my ability. And now, as I promised, here is just a handful of the testimonies I have heard from others, including my mom's healing:

• An old woman had to have some of her stomach removed in a surgery, and she was told she'd never eat again. She came to a certain evangelist's meeting, and he prayed for her healing. Afterwards, he asked her "If you could eat anything, what would you eat?" and she told him "Oh, I always told myself if I could ever eat again, I'd eat a Mc-Donald's cheeseburger!" So he gave her cash and told her to get McDonald's. Her family started to panic, saying she couldn't eat. The evangelist essentially waved them off. He says that later, though, he thought, "Crap! I just told a woman who can't eat to get McDonald's! You should even eat that when you're healthy!" He now has a picture of that woman with a big smile on her face and a Big Mac in her hands. She was perfectly fine.
• A woman was imprisoned in the Philippines. Sometimes when she spoke, her voice was that of someone else. Even with her arms bound, she woke up with scratches and different sized bite-marks all over her body An evangelist saw it in a news headline and felt God tell him, "If you don't go and help her, no one will." He went and prayed for this woman, and it sparked a huge revival in the Philippines.
• A young man who grew up in the church saw a lot of hypocrisy in the church and at age 14, said "F God, F Christians". He turned to a life of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. He even toured the Tri-State Area as the drummer in a band, and almost signed on with a record company. He should have died multiple times, but he didn't. He dabbled in witchcraft, Islam, whatever he could. Eventually he decided to try to disprove the existence of God. But to do that, he had to "do what the Christians do". So he joined up with a group called Youth With A Mission (YWAM) and trained there. He hated almost everyone there. But as time passed, he came to realize that God did exist, and that the representatives for God that had been in his life were just terrible ambassadors for God. That man is now my youth pastor, and I would trust him with my life.
• A woman was born deaf in one ear. The issue was behind her eardrum, so there was nothing that could be done by the medical world that could fix it. When she was around 40 years old, the pastor of her church called up anyone who wanted a healing. She had heard testimonies of three other people who had had their ears healed, and she decided it was her turn, so she went up. He stuck his finger in her ear and told it to open. She jumped. She continued to test the hearing in her ear after the service had ended. And she could hear. She broke down and began to cry. And I use my mom's story to insure myself that mine will come in time, too.

So you know how sometimes when you're on the couch you need to stretch your legs but you don't want to get up?

Yeah so a few days ago I had one of those moments so I stretched my legs.

And while I was doing it it felt really good. It was nice.

And my right leg suddenly had searing pain.

I don't know if I went too far or too long or both or something else.

But I had to ask my brother to get me an ice pack.

I started wondering how labor felt.

It was bad.

I got up to go to the bathroom a while later.

I limped.

So I'm in science rn and at the front of the room is a cardboard box. On the box it says

"Phone Jail

(Mostly 2nd period)

(And Mara)"

I want to know what Mara did to invoke the wrath of the science teacher...

The 6 stages of performing in a group

1. Okay, I'm so excited! Let's do this!

2. I'M GOING TO MESS UP AND EVERYONE IS GOING TO NOTICE AND I'M GOING TO DIE UP THERE AAAA-

3. (after the first song) Alright, this is going well.

4. (before the last song) Just wait till they see the finale! This is gonna be awesome!

5. (after playing the last note) HECK YEAH BABY LET'S FREAKIN' GOOOOOOOOOOOO!

6. (five minutes later) how exactly does one stay awakkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

Based on a meme I saw on Pinterest. @The Bookwyrm

Person 1: "Why are there ten loud saxophone players outside? This isn't even a metaphor they're actually out there."

Person 1: "I JUST PASSED THREE PEOPLE WITH TUBAS?????"

Person 2: "Please consider: marching band."

Person 1: "See here's the thing, that WOULD make sense, except I'm at the gym?????"

Person 3: "Marching band wants to work out. Upgrade to running band."

Person 1: "I'm dying just imagining someone violently playing the clarinet while sprinting after me."

@The Bookwyrm again, also @InfiniteInsanity and @ExoticAlmond