Category Archives: Uncategorized

God’s Preperation

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This past year, I was pretty confused with myself, my faith, and my life in general. This summer my dad got diagnosed with cancer and no one was happy about it. We all had to step up and take care of ourselves, but also take care of dad. We couldn’t think about ourselves, not even for a minute, we were instead living on prayer and praying for another day with him. Through it all though I learned responsibility. I learned to take full care of myself, but also how to care for dad. I feel like God will use me in the future to somehow care for others and show them the love they deserve.

This fall, my neighbors started to do Safe Families. They started out by taking care of a  baby named Avah and she was the sweetest like 4 month old I’ve ever seen. Close to Christmas, they got two sisters, Ariana and Mia, ages 4 and 7. I was a little bit upset because all their time was spent with them and if I wanted to hang out, it would turn into babysitting. After one visit with them, I totally fell in love with both of them. They were so sweet, but yet they had a lot to learn. We would go for walks to the park, make a “water park” in the bathtub so they would cooperate, we were like their family. One day I was sitting by them at Ally’s volleyball game and Ariana told me she had to go potty. We did not make it to the bathroom, but instead on my shirt. Yes, I was mad, but God gave me the patience. They still come back and visit and every time, it is the happiest moments of my life. I feel like through those 14 weeks of them being my neighbors, God was trying to possibly show me what my future would be like. I feel like he wants to care for not only my kids, but the kids of others as well. They made us laugh until we cried. They made  us dance until we couldn’t breathe. They showed us what true love really is.

I am forever changed by both of these things, and I can’t see my life without these two things. I found a gift of care. I found what God’s love really is. I found what life is all about. I was taught very unique and different things through both events. I now have found who I am and whose I am.

Darkness in Disney

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“It’s a Small World” was Amy’s favorite ride at Disney. She was with her friend, Tom. They saw the line wasn’t long, so they scooted into the line and waited not long at all. In line, they met a family behind them with two kids. The parents names were Todd and Pat. The kids  looked to be twins the age of three or so. Amy was wearing her purse over her left shoulder which contained makeup, her pink wallet, sunglasses, and chapstick. Todd and Pat seemed very irritated with every little thing going on around them, including Amy and Tom, which made them kind of suspicious. Pat and Todd clearly did not want to be at the “happiest place on earth”. Todd was just the slightest bit annoyed that his wife was in an angry mood and it was clear to see. Pat told Todd that she had to go to the bathroom and she left her family. They turned to the people in front of them and introduced themselves. This couple, Jake and Katrina, clearly did not like to talk. They rolled their eyes whenever Amy would ask them a question. Jake and Katrina clearly were not satisfied with anything they had because when they got up to the front of the line, they were complaining on how they had to wait for 10 whole minutes. Jake and Katrina were walking to their boat and Amy and Tom were right beside them. Katrina bumped into Amy and then proceeded to climb into her boat. Amy and Tom climbed into the next boat, and Todd and Pat in the last. Pat made it back just in time to climb into the boat with her family. As Amy waited she went down to reach into her purse to pull out her wallet, but it was not there. She panicked and looked all in the boat, but then spotted one exactly like her’s in Katrina’s hands. She quickly told Tom what was going on, but he did not understand right away. Amy looked behind her and saw Todd and Pat giggling mischievously with their twins.  They got to the scene with England and the ride stopped. She heard a small splash behind her, but did not think to look back. The ride continued and they all got out, all three couples at once. The rather wet, Pat and Todd, ran to the next ride, but Jake and Katrina stayed to talk. The couples became friends, but not everything ended happily ever after.

Solution :

While Pat was “in the bathroom”, she broke the system and wired the ride to break down in 15 minutes. Katrina bumped into Amy on accident, knocking her wallet out for Pat to grab when she came back. Katrina just happened to have the same one. The splash in the water was Pat and Todd. She wired the system that the ride would stop for five minutes which gave them enough time to swim and grab her bag right from her left side. They ran with the purse and her wallet, but Katrina and Jake were used as a distraction to let Todd and Pat get away. They later split the prize, but found out her wallet was empty and that Tom was holding all their money.

 

Why is it Important that we Study Christian Persecution?

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I think that it is good to study this topic because in Zeeland and Holland, we are not aware of everything that goes on around us due to the comfort that we feel. We are so used to only hearing of violence, but never experiencing it ourselves. Persecution definitely shows us a different side to the world that isn’t all flowers and sunshine. Believing in God is an excellent thing, but it comes with many difficulties and I think it is a great thing for us to learn about. Although reading stories of people getting persecuted for their faith is not fun at all, it is a time to forget about ourselves and look into other’s lives.

Ideal Church vs. Early Church

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In Bible, we made a list of how we wanted our church to look like and a list of what the Early Church looked like. They were similar in one way, but different in many ways. I felt quite guilty when we compared our lists. The Early Church was all about being together with everyone and sharing everything. On our list, we had a lot of the things we want, but never talked about sharing or being together but instead on everything we needed for ourselves. Our church was not focused on God completely, but on making us happy in the process of giving God praise. The one thing that was in common, and has stayed the same since is that we are all worshiping the same God.

Math Project

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We were told to use the Pythagorean Theorem and to make a real life situation. This is what we came up with. It is not an everyday that you come across this situation, but that is where our creativity came in. It was fun and interactive and will help me in the future.

Photo on 1-8-16 at 8.14 AM

God Sightings

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This weekend I saw God through my church. We have lately gotten a new pastor at our church. Our church has done a great job of welcoming them and making it an easy transition for them. Their kids have been welcomed into the church programs and they’ve been involved with youth group events and Bible studies. This family has moved around five times and each time to a different state. I can tell that the Holy Spirit is working through the people at my church.

Convection Currents Lab

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Our science experiment worked and it looked really cool. We had to wait a few minutes, but once it started it moved a little faster. Faster meaning still slow. The hot water moved to the outside of the beaker and then it went to the top. It kept doing that, or at least some parts did. It was cool to see this because I have never really take the time to notice it before.

The Hunger Games : Thematic Essay

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I read the series The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The author shows us many issues that she thinks could happen in the future. The people in this book come across many issues in their day to day life, but this is the main one that they come across. In The Hunger Games, you can learn the lesson that a bad society results in bad living conditions.

An example of bad living conditions in the districts is that nobody gets everything they need to survive a day. They get limited resources and it is a struggle to get good food. They need meat, but they are not allowed to hunt. Gale and Katniss always snuck out of their district to get meat and sell it in to their local stores for money for their families. Gale, a main character, snuck out to hunt and he got caught while he was just trying to get food. His punishment was that he had to be whipped in front of his whole town. The peacemakers started many uprisings in that district which then spread to all 12 districts. Eventually District 12 gets set on fire while the two town heros are in the game, and a lot of people die because of President Snow.

A major way that this theme is shown in this book is how President Snow sends kids ages 12-18 to fight to their deaths. Only one kid may come out, and everyone must stay in the arena until they are dead. I do not understand why they would kill off a part of kid’s population each year just for the entertainment of the public. Some winners wish they died in there because they know that they will have such bad, haunting memories stuck in their heads for their whole life. Since Katniss and Peeta decided to not kill each other in the arena, there was no winner. Them and their families were tortured and they were threatened by the president. They caused so much violence because they did not want to kill each other. So many other people were killed because there was no winner, and the government sent the districts into chaos.

Another way that this theme is shown is how all of the kids in all of the districts know nothing but violence. All they see is bad living conditions and the sight of people being tortured. They don’t live with everything they need, which affects their health, which can affect what they are able to do physically. They grow up with the fear of being sent into the arena and being killed. If this book were to add more books to the series, which I’m pretty sure won’t happen, I bet that their districts would be in terrible conditions. Fighting in their country sends horror into their minds and sticks with them forever. Why do such bad people want to taunt their next generation with evil thoughts, pictures, scenes?

I know that this book is fake, but the author makes it seem so real. I will never understand why so much sin must be in this world because it makes some people so sick inside. Why would you not help the people in your country that have needs? Why would people hand pluck children and send them in an enclosed area to kill each other? All I want in life is for everyone to life in peace at one point, but this book shows us the future will be different. In The Hunger Games, you can learn the lesson that a bad society results in bad living conditions.