The Soldier Down the Road

A father comes to the bus stop to get his little girl who was in kindergarten. His shaved head and muscular body shows that he is a soldier who is in the military. Shaun has three daughters and is married to a beautiful wife who he met at their school's banquet. He grew up on a farm in a family of ten children of whom he was the youngest.  He wanted to do something brave and heroic and decided to join the army as soon as he got out of high school. When he got to boot camp, Shaun realized that it was not more then just doing something great or living a dream...he realized it was more important and a whole lot harder then he imagined. Whenever someone looked at him, he would seem older then his thirty-five years due to the war he had fought in when he was younger.
That day as he was getting five year old Colleen from the bus, he knew that he wouldn't be getting her from the bus for a whole year. His sergeant had called that day and told him that he would be deployed to Afghanistan in a few weeks. He had been on two deployments already and even though he was sad about leaving his family, he still managed to have a smile on when Colleen stumbled off the bus into his arms.

Moving on to Larger Pets

Hamsters are not very reliable pets. They are vulnerable to death too easily. My family has gone through eleven hamsters because they all ended up getting sick and dying. Hamsters are prone to a disease called wet-tail which basically, apologies for being blunt, diarrhea. So, if one has it in the cage at the pet store, they all have it because they share the same waterbottle.
I am not saying I hate hamsters, but after awhile and after they keep dying, it should be clear it is time for a new pet. I can remember that one of our hamsters ran on its wheel ALL night and was dead the next morning. They didn't have one in the pen at the store, and he was obviously very exctied to have one....although the excitement cost him his little life.
Eventually we did get a cat and love having one. His name is Pooter and he is very adorable. He gets into trouble often, but he is just a young wee lad. Pooter loves to sleep on Mama's lap in the evenings and to play. He has toy that is a fish on a string and we play for a good while with it.
All in all, cats are definitely able a more reliable pet.

One of my Heros

One of my heroes is Bethany Hamilton. She lives in Kauai, Hawaii and has been surfing since she was very little When she was thirteen a shark bit her arm off while she was surfing, leaving her without much of an arm left. She lost about 60% of her blood and made a miraculous recovery. After her arm was healed, she went back and started surfing again. She had to learn how to do somethings differently with having only one arm. That's a reason she is my hero, because she returned to surfing and is very brave.
One of the reasons she is my hero is that she is a Christian too. She saw the TV interviews and publicity as a way to be a witness for Christ. Bethany said that her faith in Christ helped her through one of the most trying times of her life. People have asked her if she would take her arm back if she had the choice and she said no because she has been able to be such a big big witness for Christ in the media and surfing world. I look up to Bethany for this reason.
A movie was just recently done called Soul Surfer which is based off her story and the book she wrote. They knew that they could use this movie to share the Gospel and reach out to many unsaved people. The movie is excellent, not to mention all the surfing in it. :)
Bethany Hamilton is someone all girls can look up to as a good role model. Someday I want to surf just like her.

Something I fear

I think something I fear is being left out by others. when i first came to Shalom, people didnt seem very welcoming and i was very left out. I felt like Joseph amongst his brothers. The other kids knew i was different and didnt want to except me into their group. I ate lunch alone sometimes. I think, though, i leg myself be left out. It was my own choice and I could have interacted with people...i was just to scared.

Apples.

Apples. What do you think about when you bite into an apple? I love the fresh crisp taste I get when I take a bite out of my all time favorite kind of apple...a Granny Smith apple. One of the best ways to enjoy my Granny Smith apple is with peanut butter. I have my mama cut my apple if she is available and then enjoy apple slices dipped in peanut butter. There is no better snack, not to mention a healthy one. I also enjoy a granny smith apple in caramel apple dip to the fullest.
It seems that apples get a bad reputation in fairy tales. For example, Snow White. Her evil stepmother poisoned an apple and told Snow white to eat it. And wouldn’t you know, SHE TOOK A BITE. I like apples but if some gnarly old woman where a cape told me to take a bite of an apple, I would run the other way. I would run really really fast.
All in all, I love Granny Smith apples and really don't eat any other kind unless I have to. Pink Lady apples are quite scrumptious too but Granny Smith is my number one pick.
And now I am going to go eat a Granny Smith apple and peanut butter. I do not lie.
 
 

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Tangled-one of the best Disney movie EVER

One of my all time favorite movies is Tangled. It is a spin off of the Rapunzel story and guarantees a load of laughs. We meet up with the spunky and compassionate Rapunzel who has been locked in a tower for her entire life. An evil lady, Mother Gothel, kidnapped Rapunzel when she was a wee babe so that she could still look young. You may wonder what locking a princess in a tower would do to keep an old witch young, well, Rapunzel's hair has the ability to heal.
Along with her chameleon friend Pascal, Rapunzel is quite satisfied living in her tower until the outlaw Flynn Rider shows up. She asks him to take her to the castle to see the lights that appear in the sky each year on her birthday in exchange for the knapsack he was carrying. Flynn agrees and the two begin their thrilling adventure. They....wait....if i tell you anything else, you'll know to much. You should watch the movie. It's the best and is very cute.

                     Flynn Ride while being held hostage. Pascal woke him up with a wet willy.

The Phantom of the Opera- a message behind it

When you first think of the Phantom of the Opera, what jumps out at you? A beautiful soprano? A love story? An unknown figure that lurks around the Paris Opera house? Not only do these things stand out, but I also think there is a lesson that can be learned about judging others.
The Phantom, who wears a mask on the right side of his face, has never known anything of love. All of his life he has hidden behind a mask because of the way people treated him. They mocked him, jeered at him, and hunted him down just because his face is distorted and looks different.
Matthew 7:1 it says:
                       “Do not judge or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (NIV)

In the story, the Phantom is judged by his outward appearance alone and that is where problems begin arise. He only wants to be love and his music be appreciated. Underneath the mask and the disfiguration, is a man who has a passion for music and theater. After all the years of torment and hatred towards him, the Phantom begins to act in violent and rash ways. He falls in love with Christine Daae, a young soprano at the opera house, and when he finds out she loves Raoul, the patron of the opera house, he tries to kill Raoul. In the end, Christine is the only one, other then some others, who doesn't judge him by how he looks.
We must be careful about the way we judge other people. We are ALL made in God's image and must come to treat others like so.