WOW JAM

The WOW JAM last night was really great.  I enjoyed it alot.  I was able to help out with little kid games and eventually took control of a skeeball-type game.  I extrememly enjoyed encouraging the people and seeing their faces lit up when a golfball they threw went into a hole.  I also liked seeing them smile when they realized that they recieved candy even if no balls went in any of the holes.  Many people came back four or five times. Some laughed at the way I snapped my fingers and made them into a thumbs-up sign after they scored a goal. I just felt so happy. At the night service so many people raised their hands to accept Christ. It was amazing.

I really do enjoy WOW JAM. It is in the inner part of my city, so we only have to travel around thirty minutes to reach any one of the locations. I look forward to the WOW JAM that takes place tonight. It will take place at a different neighborhood this time. God is good all the time, and all the time God is good.

†God Bless†
Bria

Guideposts For Teens

Approximately eleven hours after writing my last post, it appears that www.gp4teens.com was changed into www.guidepostssweet16mag.com.  You see, the editors of the magazine changed the name of the magazine and the entire outlook as well.  Instead of having a magazine for both guys and girls, they changed it so that it was specifically targeted towards girls.  I personally dislike the change.  Because of the change of the magazine, it seems as though they decided to delete the "old" website and replace it with a "new" website.  I wish that they hadn't of done this, but I don't have a say in what they decide to do.

I am sorry for this (though I don't really know why). I sorta feel guilty, though I don't think that there was any way for me to know that they were erasing the old site.  I wonder why I feel guilty for something that was not "my fault" and beyond my control.

Tonight, tomorrow, and the next day I get to participate in this thing called WOW JAM (Winning Our World through Jesus And Music).  My church, along with many others, is going into the inner city where we volunteer to do many things for the poor people there (ex. hair cuts, bike repair, free food, nail and face painting, rocking babies, doing games for the young kids).  I helped out with the little kid games last year.  Near the end they give out big prizes (bikes, CD players, boom boxes).  Then the speaker presents the gospel message (frequently throughout the time we're helping the people, the guy in charge has everyone raise their hand and repeat after him: "I am special because God made me.").  Last year, there were over 1,000 salvations in the three-day period.  It was really an awesome experince.  Then, on Sunday, they have this baptism service at the local YMCA where many of the people who were just saved were baptized.  I'm glad that I get to participate again this year.  God is good all the time, and all the time God is good.

†God Bless†
Bria

Back from Music Camp

I have to admit: Music Camp was a really great experience.  I enjoyed almost every aspect.  I believe that I did become a better viola player, which is really inevitable when required to play over four hours every day for a week.  The concert afterwards was really great, and I really did enjoy playing the music (though after even one more day, I would have been absolutely sick of both my viola and the music).   I believe that I did grow closer to my friend, and am extremely happy that we did not become enemies.  My social limit was stretched often at the camp, though I believe that it was a good thing.  I am gradually learning not to do some of the things that I now realize are just plain rude, and being away from most people that I know well helps that alot.  You see, I can't really be tempted to hurt my sisters if my sisters are over one and a half hours away.

One place that I have been spending a lot of time at on the internet is http://www.gp4teens.com/forum/forums.asp  It is a group of discussion boards on various subjects and many are very interesting.  I especailly enjoy the "Debate Place."  Though I haven't commented on anything or even created a post there for a while, it still interests me.  I recommend it to anyone who enjoys argueing with others in a somewhat controlled somewhat Christain environment.

I know that I didn't really expand on anything today or comment on really any happenings, but I can't really think of any right now.  I have a question:  Does anyone reading this know of any good books on defending Christianity?  If so, please name in a comment.  Thanks!  God is good all the time, and all the time God is good.

†God Bless†
Bria

Gone to Music Camp

For the next week, I will be away at music camp. Right after returning, my family will leave for a bike trip. This means that I may not post another post until possibly the 27th.

At this camp, I hope that I will be able to improve more as a viola player. I will be rooming with one of my best friends, so I'm praying that we grow closer as friends and don't become enemies after rooming for five nights. Another thing I would like is to somewhat improve my social ability. I've been told by one person that I have the social ability of a sixth grader. Everyone else I've told about that agrees with her. It may be somewhat related to how I was homeschooled from Kintergarten to third grade (not trying to offend anyone else who's been homeschooled, just talking about my experience) and then was an outcast in school from fourth to fifth grade. As a result of going to a small, 240 person school, I was finally able to create good friends and for the first time socially "grow." You know, it could possibly be a good thing to have a supposid "underdeveloped" ability in social matters. I don't know. I've learned a couple things while talking to someone about socail matters:

If you think someone's ignoring you, it doesn't give you the right to ignore them. They might actually think that you're trying to ignore them in the first place.

View people as a prioity to your time, while in a group don't charge down ahead as fast as you can so that you don't "waste" your own time talking to people.

These are a couple things that sometimes I tend to do without really realizing it. I really love others pointing out my faults to me, because how can I fix them without first knowing what they are? I may at first feel slightly depressed after learning more negative aspects about myself, but after recovering the knowledge does help me realize how to really be a better Christian. Continuing to read the Bible and treat it as a mirror helps too. I'm glad that God gave us relationships with others and His Word. Otherwise, I think life would be basically boring. God is good all the time, and all the time God is good.

Time is Ticking Away

Sorry for not creating a post for so long. I've been kinda busy. You see, my future high school decided to give too much summer homework, and I finally stopped procrastinating starting on it, hence less time to post. I've also just sorta forgot to post. Again, sorry for delaying posting.

I have realized something lately: my life is passing by as fast as it always has whether or not I choose to notice that it is. I noticed this after realizing that next election year, I will be voting for president (or am old enough to at least). I view that as a very scary thought. It's not that I don't want to be 18, it's that when I turn 18, I can no longer go back to being younger than 18. I can no longer be viewed as a high schooler. I can no longer just be a student in school. That causes me to want to enjoy my time in high school and not treat it as something I want to end, though I still may take that point of view sometimes while attempting to complete homework. I need to choose to appreaciate the time that God has given me on this earth. One song that just happened to come to mind as I write this is "Next Five Minutes" by Steven Curtis Chapman. The lyrics are below:

I can reminisce about the already
I can worry and fret about the not yet
but when it all comes down I know it really
really all comes down to the right now
So right now...

I'm living the next five minutes
like these are my last five minutes
'cause I know the next five minutes
may be all I have
and after the nextr five minutes
turn into the last five minutes
I'm taking the next five minutes
and starting all over again
starting all over again

every moment God is giving is precious
every heartbeat, every breath I take
we'll never have them back once they've left us
there will never be anohter right now
so right now... [back to chorus]

this is the day
this is the hour
this is the moment the Lord has made

That song really makes me want to live for right now, to live for today, and not worry about what will take place tomorrow, for tomorrow will be a new day. I need to accept each moment as a moment that God has given me. Now I know that it won't be easy, but that doesn't mean that it's impossible. God is good all the time, and all the time God is good.

†God Bless†
Bria

Human Nature...Will It Ever Change?

I realized something when I was playing Monopoly with my dad and my two younger sisters (not too much younger, one's 2 years and 3 and a half months younger, the other 4 years and 2 and a half months younger). We had just "bought" all of the properties and only I had a monopoly, so my dad was proposing numerous trades so that people other than myself could actually have monopolies in order to make the game more interesting. Each proposal would benefit everybody, but neither of my sisters wanted whatever trade they made to benefit the other. They wanted to have the best cards and their sibling to have the worst or no cards. There were several proposals that could have easily caused both of them to have some of the best cards possible, but neither of them seemed to be able to imagine helping the other in any way. It was just against what they wanted.

This is human nature. To be selfish and not look out for the needs of others. I know both my sisters are Christians (and just sometimes don't act that way). Imagine what could be going on in the minds of those who are non-Christians. It's amazing what humans are capable of doing. If only there was another way. If only we could just love each other. If only.... I don't think there's any benefit to asking the "if only." It just leads to discouragement. It can cause a person to momentarily live in a world that is of the imagination. It's not beneficial. Sin definately isn't benefical either.

Just a closing thought to leave you with: If you're not growing, you're dying. Both in the spiritual sense and business sense. As a Christian, if you refuse not to move the pressure of the world around you will make you go backwards. We as Christians can't be complacent and hope that the world will change to match our lifestyles. We need to be spiritual warriors, and fight our natural human nature.

God is good all the time, and all the time God is good.

†God Bless†
Bria

Why Do Good Times Have To End?

Over just the past month, so many good things have come to a final and complete end. The first being my time at my small middle school. There are some people who I went to school with for three years that I will never have the opportunity to see again. Another good time that ended was the church camp. It was so awesome there, but that too had to come to a close. Yet another was the Arizona trip. I was able to see people I hadn't seen for 2 years (or like 1 year and 11 months) and view the Grand Canyon for the first time in my life. Yet another took place just recently. I helped out at VBS at my church. It was so fun just to help out. I felt useful and important because the kids I helped always seemed to want to copy me in craft and sit next to me in service. I had a great time. But that too had to come to an end, just like all good things. Why do good times have to come to an end? If they didn't, I think that they wouldn't be good anymore. One way to prevent good times from ever ending is too refuse to have good times at all in the first place. But that is definately not the best solution. One verse that sorta applies to this is found in Proverbs 14:13: "Even in laughter the heart may ache,
and joy may end in grief." I guess that could possibly be talking about how even when a person is happy, they could not be looking forward to the end of the happy time. It could also be referring to being dissappointed about the good time ending after it ends. I'm not exactly sure. Is it really worth it to worry about the end? I don't think so. I believe that it is better to enjoy the good time while it is taking place with the knowledge that it will end and then when it ends choose something else to look forward to. Well, it is something that I can continue to think about. Good times are a good thing, and I don't think I should be dissappointed that some of them have ended. I still have many more to look forward to. God is good all the time, and all the time God is good.

†God Bless†
Bria

Long Time No Post

Wow! It has been a while since my last post. I've just been a little busy. Arizona was absolutely awesome! I mean it. The Grand Canyon is really big. If you haven't been there before, please don't call it just a big ditch in the ground, 'cause it seems much more than that. I have been thinking a lot lately about "weird" and "strange." In my opinion, everyone (including me) is both strange and weird. Just fyi, according to www.dictionary.com, "weird" means "Of a strikingly odd or unusual character; strange" and "strange" means "differing from the normal." No one is really truly "normal" 'cause everyone's unique. No two people are really all that similar. I think it's amazing how God created us so that no two people are alike: everyone's different. I'm glad of that. It allows us to learn. I am a really inquisitive person. I seem to ask way to many questions. But when people tell me that, I usually ask, "How many questions is too many questions?" I'm not asking that to annoy, but to discover, to find out something that I don't already know. One person I know enjoys characterizing different people's approaches to life. They say that my outlook on life is that it's a "problem to be solved." I don't necessarily 100% agree with that, but I do agree. I actually really enjoy math. It is usually my favorite subject. I am blathering on and on and on. That is not necessarily a bad thing. It could be a good thing. I'm not sure what else to say right now, so I'll post this post and write another one later. God is good all the time, and all the time God is good.

†God Bless†
Bria