Love & High school

If you know me, you should've known this was coming. Dating & high school is the topic of the day.

Quite honestly, I think everyone forgets what dating actually means. Especially us Christians. Dating is when we are ready to start looking for God's choice for us. When we are mature enough to start looking for our future wife or husband. I would encourage everyone to read "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" by Joshua Harris. Amazing book and a must-read.

Those who start dating when they are in 6th grade, honestly why? By the time you get to high school, you will have gone on several dates and you'll be thinking what next? Most often that is when couples get in trouble and move on to sex. And when you're in high school, specifically your freshman-junior year, don't use the use "I love you" or describe your boyfriend/girlfriend as "the one". They may actually be the one, but you're in high school for crying out loud!! Enjoy being a preteen/teenager hanging out with friends before you are thrust into the real world wishing that you were still a kid. 

The excuse "If you love me, you'll have sex with me" is so stupid. If that person actually loved you, they would respect your wishes to not and should actually themselves be thinking the same thing. But I know that there are times that you are overwhelmed or do feel strongly for the one you are dating. But I'm also telling you, saving yourself will just make it that more sweet for your future spose. You may end up with the one you are dating through high school, I'm not saying that relationships that start there fail. I'm just saying stay true to yourself and your beliefs. 

An example at a LifeLight event really put it in perspective for me so I'll share it with you. This guy went through his high school and college dating several women and having sex with all of them. Let's pretend this guy is a bed and every time he has sex with a woman that is not his wife, a bucket of mud gets thrown onto his bed. Then he meets his future wife and he falls in love with her. When he's talking to her about marriage and courtship (if you don't know what that word is look up, because you should), she tells him she is a virgin. She tells him that she followed what God wanted for her and was saving herself for her husband. Then he has to tell her that she would not be his first. That he had slept with several other women. And she cries knowing that she will not be his first. 

Besides, say you're "in love" and you decide to have sex outside of marriage. And you wind up pregnant. Abortions are the murder of innocent children, so don't even consider that option. As a high schooler, you could put your baby up for adoption and hope that the adopting parents will allow you to visit your child. Or you could try and raise your child yourself, or push your responsibility off on your parents. And because the whole deal is stressful on you and your boyfriend/girlfriend, you wind up breaking up or in an unhappy marriage because you were forced to put your dreams and aspirations on hold. Don't you go blaming anyone but yourself because that moment you decided to have sex, you felt you were "mature" enough to be able to do so. Well guess what? There's consequences to that. 

A little off topic - but it is very relevant. Here's another thing you should pay attention to. If your family is concerned about how close and "touchy-feely" you and your date are getting, perhaps you should listen to them.  Especially when you have only been dating for a handful of months, you shouldn't even be kissing. Plus you start behaving like a brat (I would say witch with a capital "B" but that wouldn't be very nice & an inappropriate word so we'll stick with brat) to your family, you're obviously doing something wrong. And the moment you disrespect your parents, maybe you should think about how you are behaving. Stop accusing them of being "unfair" and accusing everyone else of being immature. I'm thinking of several instances, some of my own personal experiences included, that I have heard, seen or experienced where if I would've spoken to my parents like that, I would've gotten my butt whipped and grounded for a minimum of 2 weeks. Without a phone. But you know what, I would've deserved it. Because God says honor your father and mother and clearly in that situation, it was anything but respecting them.

Being a little bit older now and being so close to being actually out in the world, please take it from me. You may not want to hear it, but I honestly know what I'm talking about. Mostly through personal experience and then from watching others do exactly what I did (or worse). Stop trying to live your life by becoming something else. Live a life that would be pleasing to God. 

"Dear Lucky Agent" Contest for Young Adult & Sci-Fi Writing

ATTENTION WRITERS!!

A friend of mine just shared this website with me. I know it's due tomorrow, but if you have some writing already prepared submit it here! Don't forget to read all the instructions and good luck everyone!!

http://tinyurl.com/a8msdw2

Thief's Honor (cont. Chapter 1)

James smiled. “Oh nothing. Does the word Creed mean anything to you?” Raven paled. How could he know that name? No one knows about her mother. “No. Why do you ask?” She noticed as James heard the lie in her voice. “Oh no reason. I heard a customer come into the store while I was working at the forge. He mentioned the name Creed to Henri. She told me about it last night.”

Raven was troubled as she and James walked into the Warrior’s Folly. James greeted his wife, Henri, with a kiss before she could greet them. “James Ironhide, shame on you! I’m working!” She turned to him, hands planted on her hips but a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “I’m sorry dear, I could not resist.” James nodded in Raven’s direction. Henri frowned as she watched Raven sit down at a table looking troubled. “Is she alright?” James nodded, “She saw him today.” Henri tilted her head, as if asking a silent question that only they understood. James nodded and turned to join Raven at the table.

I need to just ask him. It’s James, he would never do anything to harm me. Raven looked at James. “I lied. Creed means something to me. How do you know that name?”

James crossed his arms. “A lot of what you think you know is about to be turned upside down. Are you sure you want to know”

~

The hooded figure watched from a corner table in the Warrior’s Folly. His face was shadowed so that if the black-haired elven woman would not recognize his features. He shouldn’t have revealed himself in the market, but she had to be the woman Creed had told him about. Her skills at swordplay were very impressive and her eyes reminded him of Creed. It was time for James to put her to the test and see if she was the one they had been looking for.

James had come to him earlier that month. As leader of the Thieves’ Guild, it had been his job to make sure all of the members had been informed of Creed’s disappearance. It was very disturbing with the reappearance of The Illusionist. Creed had only trusted him with the information of who she really was, and this elven woman he needed to find and protect. They had agreed that she would be recruited to be a part of the Guild so that he could keep a watch over her personally.

He only hoped they could recruit her before Creed’s fate became her own.

~

(I'm going to start adding all of this onto the page titled "Thief's Honor". That way you can read it all at once. I'm going to be experimenting with pages so there might be a couple changes in the next couple of weeks. Be forewarned!!)

Whew!! Keeping Up on Multiple Blogs

I'm finding it a bit difficult to spend time on each of my blogs evenly. I have 2 other blogs, each for a different class. It's actually a really good idea especially in today's technology age. But I find myself having to spend less time on this one and more time answering the questions for my classes on those blogs. I will try to write more for here though, it'll probably have to wait for weekends though :)

P.S. Because of the poetry slams this semester, I will be focusing on poetry a lot because I am performing in them this semester! Excited yet nervous!!

Thief's Honor

So I have a new idea for a book. I know, I know. I haven't finished the other one. But sometimes when you hit a roadblock, you need to do something else. Here's my something else. I'm thinking that I'm going to call it "Thief's Honor". Here' s a rough draft of what I have so far, let me know what you think of it.

Shadows seem to be shifting and hiding something malicious. Anxiously looking around, the High Elf speeds up her pace. The Orphic Forest had a reputation for playing tricks on the mind. Plus the rumors swirled that Amon, The Illusionist, had taken up residence in the forest. It was basically his kingdom, but it was the fastest way to Chaos Harbor despite the danger. The High Elf, known only as Creed, gathers a bundle closer to her chest. She must make it to Chaos Harbor. This precious bundle must be delivered safely before they were found.

~

Chapter 1

The clash of swords rang out in the courtyard as the blades clanged against each other. The wielders were engaged in an elaborate dance as a crowd watched who would be superior. Once a week, the townspeople were entertained as Raven and James exchanged blow for blow with their blades, Raven’s falchion against James’ rapier.

With each clang of steel, the steps were made to be more complex and required more skill than most people had. It was a art form, watching this dance of blades. Raven was confident in her ability to win. Only she was able to notice as James tired, and she felt she only grew stronger. She waited patiently for the perfect opportunity to strike. James lunged towards her and she twisted to avoid the blade. She followed her spin with a downward strike and James was not able to bring his rapier up to parry. Her blade whistled through the air, stopping mere inches from his jugular. The crowed broke into applause as James lowered his weapon in surrender. “Well played Raven.”

Raven grinned as she clapped him on the back. “What say we head to the Warrior’s Folly for some of Henri’s cooking?” They made their way through the crowd as people congratulated them, telling them how they enjoyed watching the sparring. Once clear of the crowd, Raven removed the dulling enchantment she had placed on their swords. James watched as her emerald eyes turned violet when she used her magic.

As Raven and James walked through the Harbor Market down by the docks, Raven felt an eerie chill run down her spine. Frowning, she looked over her shoulder. As she scanned the crowd, a tall red-haired man caught her eye. She noticed him watching her intensely and as she made eye contact, he grinned and winked at her. Raven snorted and faced forward. She didn’t like being watched. She turned to look again and the stranger was gone. James noticed her searching and turned to look as well. “What’s wrong Raven?”

Raven shook her head. “Nothing. I thought I felt someone watching us is all. It’s nothing.”

James noticed she was still tense. He watched out of the corner of his eye as he caught a flash of red. He made contact with the stranger, who was watching Raven from an alley. The man nodded to him and he returned his nod. James looked back at Raven, pondering. She noticed his attention and flushed. “What?” 

Act of Valor Movie Review

I watched Act of Valor with my family last night. I absolutely loved the movie and will most likely watch it over and over again. It's a reminder of how often our military puts their lives on the line. It followed the lives of a Navy Seal team as they are chase a terrorist who is planning on blowing up key places in the U.S. Being a military brat, this movie was very interesting to me and close to my heart. I had to watch the deleted scenes and the interviews with the active duty Navy Seals. My favorite deleted scene was "MREs", I think they should have included that in the movie.

I think that everyone - and I do mean everyone - should have to watch Act of Valor. Especially those who bash the military members. They give up so much to protect us, I don't think I would be able to do it. They don't get to see their family as often and some don't even get a chance to make an impact on their children's lives. But they are away, protecting our freedoms so that their children (as well as everyone else) has the ability to choose what they want to do with their lives.

To everyone who has served or is currently serving - I know it isn't much but I would like to say thank you for everything you do. Thank you for sacrificing so much so that I'm able to live my life and enjoy the freedoms that are my right by the Constitution and are protected by military members. I wish there was more that I could do to show you my thanks.