"Today give a stranger one of your beautiful smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day."

For all you Harry Potter haters/sceptics:
Before Harry was born, a wizard "...went...bad. About as bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse." He terrorized the wizarding world with a a deadly curse. Harry became famous as The Boy Who Lived when he survived that curse. Voldermort murdered Harry's dad, then threw the curse at Harry, but Harry's mom took the curse on herself to save him. Voldermort hit Harry with the curse again. That's how he got his lightning bolt scar. But the curse was broken. Hagrid calls this "a great myst'ry". Lily Potter loved her son so much that she gave her life. She jumped in front of the curse to save him. At the end of the story, the evil one couldn't even touch Harry! As Dumbledore said, "to have been loved so deeply", gave Harry protection forever. What a great story! It's set in a fantasy world. There's another great story. It REALLY HAPPENED in our world...
Before the world began, an angel went...bad. Worse. Worse than worse. God cast him out of heaven, like lightning, see? He tricked people into disobeying God and hit 'em with a deadly curse. People lived in fear of death until the curse was broken. Jesus broke the curse. he took it on himself when he died on the cross. When Jesus came back alive that proved the curse was broken. "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not die but have eternal life. (John 3:16). Believe in Jesus. He is the REAL elixir of life. Then you can be The Boy (or Girl) Who Lived. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (that angel who went bad). He prayed we would "be protected from the evil one." In our world, all witchcraft is like the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. So don't dabble! Practice Defense Against the Dark Arts. Get all your supernatural power from God.
(from "What's a Christian to Do with Harry Potter?")

"When life throws you a lemon, make lemonade" ~some famous person

Okay, since when did they start putting lemon in soda? (That's the real word for "pop", for all my PA readers who might be confused at this time). It sounds like a nice idea...maybe, but it smells like lemon lysol! I mean, c'mon, at least make it seem appealing to the customer. Man, I leave for 12 weeks and when I come back, the world is going crazy.

Ever had one of those days? Ya, if you have, you know what I'm talking about...

36 more hours. I keep telling myself that over and over again. In 36 more hours, I will be home. Then I won't have to spend 6+ hours a day doing homework. Then I can sleep in my own room all alone in my nice quiet house and eat real food. .....but that's still 36 more hours here full of 10-page papers and exorbitent amounts of reading and...*sigh* 36 more hours.

For Your Knowledge And Protection (not written by me)
A recent newspaper headline read, "Smell of baked bread may be health hazard." The article went on to describe the dangers of the smell of baking bread. The main danger, apparently, is that the organic components of this aroma may break down ozone. I was horrified. When are we going to do something about bread-induced global warming? Sure, we attack tobacco companies, but when is the government going to go after Big Bread? Well, I've done a little research, and what I've discovered should make anyone think twice....

THE FINDINGS-------------
1. More than 98 percent of convicted felons are bread eaters.

2. Fully HALF of all children who grow up in bread-consuming households score below average on standardized tests.

3. In the 18th century, when virtually all bread was baked in the home, the average life expectancy was less than 50 years;
infant mortality rates were unacceptably high; many women died in childbirth; and diseases such as typhoid, yellow fever and influenza ravaged whole nations.

4. More than 90 percent of violent crimes are committed within 24 hours of eating bread.

5. Bread is made from a substance called "dough." It has been proven that as little as one pound of dough can be used to suffocate a mouse. The average person eats more bread than that in one month!

6. Bread has been proven to be addictive. Subjects deprived of bread and given only water to eat begged for bread after only two days.

PROPOSED RESTRICTIONS---------------------

Most bread eaters are utterly unable to distinguish between significant scientific fact and meaningless statistical babbling. In light of these frightening statistics, we propose the following bread restrictions

1. No sale of bread to minors.

2. No advertising of bread within 1000 feet of a school.

3. A 300 percent federal tax on all bread to pay for all the societal ills we might associate with bread.

4. No animal or human images, nor any primary colors (which may appeal to children) may be used to promote bread usage.

5. A $40.2 billion fine on the three biggest bread manufacturers.

They say the college years are the best years of your life. I sure hope they're lying. Don't get me wrong, I love college so much more than High School and I am having a blast here. But if it only goes downhill from here on out...? Not very exciting stuff to be sharing with me, ya know? College is a weird period of your life in general. In one aspect I feel like such a little kid again. Dorm life is like one big sleep-over party and everything fun here is wicked cheap. (Yes all my PA friends, I said "wicked"). On the other hand, I feel like I've leaped into adulthood. I am paying bills, balancing my checkbook, managing my free time, and working full-time (schoolwork during the year, and regular work during vacations). I suppose it doesn't help that I'm a 19 year-old freshman. Because everyone is so smart here, most of the girls in my hall are turning 18 this fall. I'll be 20 in...5 months! It's a confusing age to be at. I'm sort of an adult at 18, but I'm nineteen, so still a teen, and I'm not 21, so I guess not officially a "real" adult. Although, the only really big thing about being 21 is that you can drink, and that's not something I'm into. So does that mean that I'll be an adult when I'm 20, or was I an adult at 18 and I am an adult and a teen at the same time now....? I spent this last week working out my schedule for college (making sure I take the right classes at the right times so that I can graduate in 4 years with my weird double major plus a minor thingy). I just planned the next four years of my life! And that is determining the rest of my life! That's kind of scary to think about. Well, that's enough life contemplation for a while. Some people tell me that I think way too hard and way too long on this kind of thing--that I'm overanalytical. *shrug* I've given up trying to fit other people's definition of "normal". For now I'm off to enjoy the brief freedom of this weekend.

Growing Pains
When I was little, my best friend Lauren used to complain about growing pains. Although I was envious of her height, I definitely did not wish for the pain involved in this rapid growth. But as I reflect on my life these past 14 months, I realized that in my own way, I have been experiencing growing pains. And these aren't the kind of pains you can alleviate with a few Tylenol. In several distinct areas of my life I have felt God gently--and not so gently--tugging to get my attention. God uses such clear methods, yet so often we skim over them like a particularly dull story. It’s not that I didn’t notice God’s intervention in my life; but I was so caught up in the events that it just took me an incredibly long time to connect the pieces. But I know that in order to experience fruitful growth, I need to be willing to endure the painful process it requires. I am beginning to see that if I really want to abide in Christ and experience that deep level of fellowship, then I need to make sure that I am growing in the right direction. I have plans for my life; I have dreams and aspirations and desires and demands. God has plans for my life as well. The difference is that His plans are far better than my wildest expectations. This year God has been whittling away all the directions of my life that I have been trying to take on my own. Some have been close to the mark, but not quite what He had in mind. Other areas require more drastic, painful guidance because I have strayed so far away. Although the experience can be agonizing at times, I know that God’s guidance is far more enjoyable than where my stubborn desires will lead. So here I stand: hurting but in a strange way happy. I am not particularly happy with what I have had to go through these past months, but I am enjoying the closeness it has brought between myself and God. And I know that the more I submit to His discipline and direction, the closer He will draw me.

Yes, my website has had a facelift once again. Hopefully you like the new template...I was just getting really sick of having the skinny text box. Also, I switched from Reblogger to BlogBack for the commenting section. It's apparently supposed to be better. Hope you enjoy the new format and that more people start to take advantage of the commenting system!