Photo Walk

For my photo walk I walked along a beach nearby my house. Unlike the surfer filled beaches of California or the sugar white sands of Hawaii, this beach is mostly gravel, which makes sand castle building a very difficult activity. As I was walking along the shore I remembered the summer days when the heat was so unbearable my mom took my brother and I to this beach. The ice cold waters quickly cooled us down. That was something I could always depend on from the Puget Sound. Next year I'm going to college in Montana. Upon looking at a map of the United States, I came to realize a sad fact: Montana is landlocked. That means no beaches! For a girl that was born and raised by the gravel coast of Puget Sound, this is a very sad reality. And what's more, I'll be on my own. I'm still not sure what to think about that. Part of me is longing for the freedoms of college, but another part of me wants to go back in time and be little again. But until the invention of the time machine, I'm stuck in the present. And time has a bad habit of going forward toward the future. So, whether I like it or not, I've got an impending adventure on my hands. And 2011 is going to bring that. I remember when I graduated 6th grade I got a t-shirt that said "Class of 2011". Back then, that seemed so far way, now it's right around the corner! I'm just praying that in this big adventure of mine, while things may not go according to my life plan, it's all interworked into the Master Plan that God is designing for me.

Random Acts of Kindness Proposal

I propose to go through the Starbucks drive-through and pay for the person's drink behind me as well as leave an encouraging note for them via the Starbucks window.

My Epic Challenge

My epic and upcoming challenge is life. For my whole life, I've always lived in the shelter of my mom and dad. And soon that's going to fade away. I'll be out in the big open world that for years I've wanted to be in, but now that I find myself on the verge of freedom, I don't think I want it. I've joked that they're going to have to drag me out of high school kicking and screaming. The good news is I'm not in this transition alone unlike Beowulf. There are around 50 other SCS seniors who are also finding themselves in the midst of this change as well. And more importantly, I'm going to have God guiding me. I hope that I'll grow stronger in my faith in the coming years. In a way I think God's the one fighting this battle. He's in control, I'm just the little Yorkie dog on the monopoly board following where he sends me. I'm still scared though.

I feel a bit like my beta fish, Triton. I kept little Triton in a goldfish bowl until I decided that he'd probably like it in a 10 gallon tank. So I got it all nice and ready for him to move in and put him in it. Poor little fish! He didn't know what to do with himself. I watched as he stayed in a corner for the first few hours. It wasn't until a while later that he discovered that his new tank was a lot bigger then his little bowl and then began happily exploring his bigger, better, home. For him to really enjoy his fishy life he needed to expand his world. Like Triton, I think it's the shock of going from my tiny bowl to my big tank that is scary. I know the world's big, but I've never really been out of my bowl. I know I'll like it once I'm in it (I'm usually like that about new things) but for the moment it's scary.

I think to ease this transition I just need to trust God. It sounds cliche I know, but it's something I struggle with. I say God has it all together, but acting on that claim is difficult. So like Beowulf, I can talk the talk, but I really need to hunker down, meet my Grendel head on, and act on it.

Why Would a Loving God Send People to Hell?

The Christian faith is one of the largest belief systems in the world. Christians have founded countries, eased catastrophes and contributed to the world. Critics claim that it is a belief in fairy tales, but to many, it’s extremely appealing. The story of Christianity is one that has fascinated and confused many. The Creator of the world, God, made man and lived with the first humans. But Satan, a fallen angel, tricked them to disobey the Lord and eat fruit that was forbidden to them. Humans were no longer perfect, and God could no longer be with them. For God is perfect, and can only be around other things as sinless as himself. But to restore the rift between humans and himself, his son Jesus was sent to earth and killed to become the pure, unstained sacrifice to cleanse the wrong in the world. Jesus came back to life, as death could not hold him, and returned to Heaven to be with his father. Those that believe in the sacrifice that Jesus made, and accept his unconditional forgiveness, have the blessing to be called children of God. They can go and live with the Lord forever in Heaven when they die, washed clean by the perfect sacrifice, Jesus. But those who reject God and what Jesus has done for them will spend forever in torment seperated from God in Hell with Satan.

To many, the Christian story sounds unfair, and God is viewed as an uncaring proud God. The idea of eternal punishment for those that don’t believe in Jesus, or perhaps have never heard of him is a difficult topic and can be viewed as cruel. So, is God just a proud eternal being in the sky who judges who goes to Heaven and who doesn’t? The Bible clearly states that God loves everyone, even defining God as love. But the idea of a finger-pointing God casting people away from his presence doesn’t sound all that loving. Is God being hypocritical? Is God really loves everyone, why doesn’t he let everyone go to Heaven?

Personality Test

I am a INFJ. 67 % Introverted, 38% Intuitive, 50% feeling, and 56 % Judging.

Reading the description about my personality type I find myself agreeing with the results. I've always known I was an introvert. But the fact that I'm an Idealist "Counselor" is relatively new to me. And what's really surprising is that it's a rare personality type, only 1% of the population are INFJ. But the fact that I want to help others and am pretty private isn't new. And what cool is that my love for writing is attributed to my personality! I love the description of my personality, helper, listener, quiet understanding. I know I'm not a wild crazy party person and that's ok. And sometimes when things are really hectic I retreat to my refuge: the school library for some solitude. I'm blessed to have friends that know and understand this. I've had people tell me I'm really discerning but have never really took that to heart until the test results started mentioning intuitive people readers. I suppose I am. I guess when one has a gift, it is difficult to separate and view as a gift unless someone else points it out. I'm glad I took this test, I really like personality test but this one is really specific and interesting. I like learning more about myself :)

Clarification

I would like to specify that my web address "bodiesgirl" is not to be the plural form of body. Rather, it is the possessive form of Bodie, my horse's name. I am not a Bodies Girl but I am, however, Bodie's girl. I just realized that they are exactly the same without the apostrophe!

Horses!!!

Horses lend us the wings we lack. ~Author Unknown