Sometimes, Clueless is a Good Thing

Hey! So I really have no clue where this comes from but I hope you enjoy!
May this make you think,
Jen

-

"Hello?" He called out into the darkness. 

He heard something back in a language he didn't quite understand. The voice though, was undeniably female. "I'm sorry say that again."

He again heard the same words. Despite the cold January morning, and the freezing rain, he stepped out onto his lawn of ice. Turning in the dim, pre-dawn light, he saw a young woman, probably around his age, maybe a few years younger, and a small boy, two maybe three at most, huddled together. 

Quickly, he ushered them inside. The lady tried talking to him, but the words still made no sense. "I'm sorry ma'am, but I can't understand you." He grabbed two cups from the cupboard and filled one with tea and the other with juice. 

Now that he could properly see, the woman wore bedraggled clothes, and her hair was an absolute mess. She must have been outside for a long time. The woman mumbled something, most likely a thank you, and he nodded, smiling at her. 

He didn't know why he had let her in. Nor why he had even woken up, but he had, and for some reason, he was grateful. And as the woman drank and became warm, he just stood there, wondering what God wanted him to do now. He had invited her in, but was absolutely clueless on what to do next. 

Shifting, she turned to him and stated clearly, "Soy Ana."

Only now recognizing her accent as Spanish, he was suddenly grateful for that seal of biliteracy that hung on his parents' wall. "Hola Ana, ¿están bienes?"

Surprised, she shifted what he expected to be her son on her lap. And suddenly, tears poured down her face and she started mumbling and sobbing. 

Not knowing what to do, and utterly clueless about anything to do with comforting someone, he simply smiled and said, "Hey, it's gonna be okay. You and your son are gonna be just fine." 

She smiled back and spoke in heavily accented English, teeth no longer chattering. "Thank you sir, your kindness has been enough to see us through."

And he sat back, dumbfounded. What kindness? What kindness had he shown her? All he had done was take her inside and give her a cup of tea. And spoke a few words of her own language to her. 

She turned to her son and said more to her child than the man sitting across from her, "God has seen us through, mijo. The Lord be praised we survived another night."

He smiled and led them to his guest bedroom. Shutting the door, he crawled back in bed. Hours later, he woke up to find the rain still pouring down. Walking into the kitchen, the events from last night finally sunk in. 

What had he done? Invited a total stranger into his house, and allowed her and her son to stay the night! He was glad that nothing had been stolen. But as he knocked on her door, he saw the bed made, and the room cleaner than he had ever met. 

And at the table lay a large breakfast with only a note "Thank you, sir. You have given us far more than we dreamed. Blessings, Ana."

He smiled. It wasn't until years later when he was walking into the supermarket that he saw someone familiar. "Sir?" He turned. 

"Yes ma'am?"

"I just wanted to thank you, for that night. It gave me hope for a new life again. The Lord used you, sir, to save us." And with that, Ana walked away. 

He never saw Ana again, but one thing was for certain: her words never left his mind. And every year, on that same day that he had met her, he would find a card on his doorstep, with a readymade breakfast. And he smiled, knowing exactly who made it. And it was his only way of knowing if she was okay. 

Then one year, the card and food did not come. He had grown old and he truly didn't expect it with everything going up. But instead on that cold January morning, all there was was another note, not written by Ana, but by a man whom he guessed was her son, and it had the same two words on it. "Thank you." And the old man laughed, thinking 'Sometimes, maybe clueless is a good thing.' And as he passed away that night, he was truly at peace. 

Be Still

Hey! 

So I am back again! I wrote this at about eleven this night and decided not to wait the hour out, so here I am. I hope you enjoy as as always,
May this make you think,
Jen

-

"Beloved, be still."

Have you ever felt that crushing guilt, that overwhelming sense of darkness and fear? When you have made a mistake that you knew you shouldn't have made because God was telling you not to do it, yet you chose to do it anyway. 

And then after the guilt comes the pain and the tears. Tears because you want to go home and pain because you have hurt someone, yourself or another. 

And then you just stare into nothing as the tears keep coming, either in loud, gasping sobs or quiet streams, but they come. And you just want to go home. You want a hug from your Heavenly Father, that warm comfort that you feel when everything is going your way. But that comfort is gone, and all there is is a gaping hole in your heart where something once was, something that you have forgotten. 

And then out of nowhere, just when the pain seems too much, and you have run out of tears to cry, words to scream, and things to yell, that little whisper that says, "Beloved, be still." And then you can. You can stop screaming at God. 

The pain hasn't lessened, the past hasn't changed, and your tear ducts are still dry, but it is okay. It is bearable. It isn't crushing anymore because you have someone who even when you are in a fight with your best friend or wether you just lost your job, or your relative died, or your boyfriend broke up with you, or your girlfriend cheated on you, there is someone who despite all that, despite the lies you say, the numbers on your test or the scale, the contraband you stole, or whatever you have done, despite all of that, someone loves you.

Someone calls you "beloved" and tells you to be still. Someone is there in the pain of your mistakes, in the cries of your hurt, someone is there, and they love you. Enough to die for you. And then you can actually be still. 

10 "He says, 'Be still, and know that I am God;

    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.' " Psalm 46:10 NIV

Friends Who Walk With You

Hey!
So I just had finals in Spanish and in Math, and it got me thinking about how different things could have been if I had chosen a different group of friends or even a different school. 
So as always, may this make you think,
Jen

-



Okay, I'll admit, I'm pretty much a hermit (no, I didn't marry Gabe the Hermit Who Kicks Julia's Cat) (Sorry inside joke). I don't go out a lot...like ever (oh, I cringe at the horrid grammar of us teens). I don't party, hangout, go to the movies, any of that. I'd rather stay at home, listen to the rain, (not that there is any), whilst reading a deep, philosophical, theological, or any other type of book that makes you think. 

But as I stated around World Language 103, Mrs. Williams' Spanish 1 class, I couldn't help but feel nostalgic, wondering what would have happened if I had made friends, actual friends, not acquaintances, if I had let these people into my life. 

Then I looked at them again and analyzed their behavior over the last two semesters. "Be careful of your friends for your friends become your future." (See the alliteration?) (Yes, I'm a nerd, get over it.) There are those people who always cut class, and those who curse in every single sentence, and those who are rude and impolite. And then the counter example to that is that portion of the population (Another alliteration! Score! What are you staring at? Yes I'm a nerd, get over it!) who are good, and loving, and amena, utterly pure. 

Good people, loving people, are easy to find. They are everywhere, but amena? Utter purity? Pure people are a select few in this world: young children, and those who love God. We might not have been pure, but none of us were. But our friends need to be those who draw us closer to the Lord, and whose actions and choices reflect His presence in their hearts. 

We Can Change The World

Hey guys, it's Abby! I've written for this blog so many times that Jenny, my fabulous best friend and starter of this great blog, made me a co-writer. Yay! So y'all will get way more of me. Yay again? I hope? Anyways, here's my first post as co-writer. May this make you think,

Abby

-

Yeah I know the title sounds corny. But it’s true. Did you guys know that a “teenager” didn’t exist a hundred years ago? There was just “children” and “adults.” There was no in between. The concept of a teenager is a totally new idea. Is it a good idea? I don’t think so. Today’s teenagers have very little expectation placed on them. They are expected to do the bare minimum. They are expected to just scrape by in school, spend all their free time messing around with their friends and glued to their phones, take lots of drugs, and just be as rebellious as they can be. And a good portion of kids do fit this expectation. Since nothing is expected of them, they do nothing. They think they can’t do anything. But that’s not true. How about instead of rebelling against our parents’ rules, we rebel against society’s expectations of us? What if we showed them that we can do anything, that we can change the world. Why should being a teenager make us rebellious, lazy, unmotivated, and powerless? But we shouldn’t blame adults for giving us this label. We gave ourselves that label by being all of those things! But it’s not too late to change that! We can change the label people have given us. No longer will people say, “oh, I dread my childrens’ teenage years,” or “ugh, my son just turned thirteen. Now I have a teenager to deal with,” or “My daughter just became a teenager. She’s such a nightmare.” We are the next generation. We have the most energy, the most drive, the most spirit, the most power, if we only choose to push ourselves. We can do anything we set our minds to. There’s no mountain we can’t climb, no obstacle we can’t overcome, nothing we can’t do, especially not with God on our side. This is our world too, we should get just as much chance to change it as any adult. We can change the world. You can change the world. All you have to do is get off that couch, go out there, and try. Have you ever heard the expression Carpe Diem? It means “seize the day” in Latin. So are you ready to change the world and people’s expectations of us? Are you ready to seize the day? We can do it!

In That Name

Hey!
Okay, honesty, I was about to cry as I wrote this. So yeah, this might bring a few tears. Just a warning!
May this make you think,
Jen

-

"Good day my lady." 

"Good day Sir. How are your children? Has Hiretha recovered from the birth of Koulm?"

"Yes my lady. She is doing well. We have decided upon her full name."

"And what is it to be?"

"Caiomhe Creidne."

"A beautiful name. Do you know what it means?"

"No my lady. I was hoping you could tell me."

"Gentleness, Beauty, Grace, Courtesy, Honour, and Faith. A name that seems to fit her even now. May I come see her tomorrow?"

"Of course my lady. Have a wonderful day."

The blacksmith left the marketplace and went back this forge. Smiling, the lady of the castle continued on, looking at all the fair had to offer. 

She smiled, thinking about the passage of scripture: "...gentleness...against such things there is no law." 'That child will grow up to be a woman rooted deep in the faith, with a gentle and quiet spirit.' 

Sererena had no doubts. Even though her father, the lord of the land, outlawed any worship of any gods not Celtic, she had come to know Christ through a generous, kind, and loving man named Joel. 

Joel had been the one to give her the name that she went by. Sererena Seve Niamh, which meant 'calm, peaceful radiance'. She could never understand why he called her that, for she was anything but that, but Joel would just smile, shake his head, and say, "Sererena Seve Niamh, I see you the way God sees you. A woman rooted deeply in the faith who radiates calmness, peace, and angharad." Love without reproach. She smiled at that. He was always mixing the old and new tongues together. 

"You are a beauty that just becomes lovelier by the hour as Christ shows more and more in you."

But Joel was very old and very sick. He knew his time was coming and that soon, his days on earth would be over and he would be with Christ in heaven. And Sererena knew this, but it did not make his death any easier. She lost her friend, her counsellor, everything she had. And for a while, her faith faltered. 

But when she was the blacksmith's house one day, playing with his daughters, Ganeida and Amena, the Lord came through in those children. 

"Lady Sererena?" Amena asked. 

"Yes Cara?" Beloved had been her nickname for this girl since she was born, just as it had been Joel's original nickname for her. 

"Will you tell me why you are always so loving to us? You need not be so, so, calm, peaceful, and loving to us. We are only peasants and you are a lady."

She came down to the eight year old's level. "Cara, I love because my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ loved me enough to die for me, to take my punishment for the bad things I have done, and to sacrifice Himself in place of me. It is because of that sacrifice that I am able to love so freely as to willingly spend time with you and your sister instead of listening to my father drone on about how I'm not getting any younger and that I need to be married."

The child whose name meant 'utterly pure' giggled at that. "But Mama said that all other religions are outlawed. How can you worship this Lord?"

"It is written in the Holy Scriptures 'if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.' If we as Christians must suffer, then we should praise the Lord because he is breaking us to make us more and more like Him."

Amena became quiet. "Can He really love me that much?"

"He can and he does. You are utterly precious to Him. He loves children. And because of Jesus, we can all become children of God."

"Lady Sererena, how do I become a Christian?"

From that day forward, the number of Christians in the land slowly but steadily grew until there were servants, merchants, farmers, nobles, and countless others meeting in secret throughout the lord of the castle's land. 

Sererena and Amena had both grown considerably since that conversation all those years ago. Until one day, the blacksmith barged into her father's receiving hall. "My lady, please come. My daughter is dying and asking for you."

Heedless of her father's orders to stay behind, the woman who had not a submissive bone in her body practically ran out of the castle into the commons. 

Part of a building had collapsed on several people, some killed instantly, some not so fortunate. Sererena knelt at Amena's side, stroking the woman's hair. "I'm not going to survive this am I my lady?"

"I'm afraid not Cara." The lady held back tears. "There is blood filling up in your lungs. I'm surprised you are not dead yet."

Amena laughed weakly. "It's a blessing from the Lord, sister. He is giving me a chance to speak to you one more time. And I want to say to you this," She coughed. "Do not grieve for me, sister. For I am not sad in my last moments. I am glad and glorifying God for I will see Him soon. 

"I wanted to tell you something that you have forgotten, sister. You have turned into the woman that Joel saw you as: beautifully radiant of tranquility and peace. And I know that one day, you are going to change the world with your love and courage and strength." 

Amena coughed up blood. "We love you sister of mine. Joel, God, and I, and we couldn't be more proud."

Her eyes seemed to be seeing elsewhere. "Oh, it is so beautiful." And with those words, Amena died. 

Sererena closed Amena's eyes. "She is gone. She is home."

And as per the wishes of Amena's parents, she was not burned in a pyre, but instead buried by the shore. 

Time went by. The lord of the castle died, leaving Sererena as his only heir. Immediately, her first action was to disband the law governing choice of worship. Later, church buildings were constructed, and services held. And while Sererena lay on her deathbed decades later, the verse that was left unfinished on her lips was the one she had quoted to Amena so long ago: "yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name." 1 Peter 4:16 ESV

To Make America (And One Day the Rest of the World) Think Again

"Born Again" by Newsboys

"I found myself looking into the mirror

Knew I wasn't who I wanted to be

I was living life the way that I wanted

But my eyes reminded me I'm not free

Believed a lie so everything that I know

Says I gotta go, tired of going solo

But I'm never gonna go there again

This is what it is, this is who I am

This is where I finally take my stand

I didn't wanna fall but I don't have to crawl

I met the one with two scarred hands

Giving Him the best of

Everything that's left of

The life inside this man

I've been born again

I see ya walking like you're living in fear

Having trouble even looking at me

Wishing they would give you more than words

Sick of people telling how it should be

What'd ya download? Where'd ya get your info?

You saw that I'm sure, now you're in the in though

Gonna tell you what I believe

This is what it is, this is who I am

This is where I finally take my stand

I didn't wanna fall but I don't have to crawl

I met the one with two scarred hands

Giving Him the best of

Everything that's left of

The life inside this man

I've been born again

We are the ones they call by name

I'm never gonna look back

Let go, let go, the guilt, the shame

Said, I'm never gonna look back

This is who I am

This is what it is, this is who I am

This is where I finally take my stand

I didn't wanna fall but I don't have to crawl

I met the one with two scarred hands

Giving Him the best of

Everything that's left of

The life inside this man

I've been born again

This is who I am

I didn't wanna fall but I don't have to crawl

I met the one with two scarred hands

Giving Him the best of

Everything that's left of

The life inside this man

I've been born again

I've been born again"

The song ended and I stopped chopping the onions. Crying from both the juice and the lyrics that I had heard a thousand times before, I just stood there. 

You know that a song is powerful when it just makes you stop what you are doing, look up, and thank God for the sun rise that morning. 

We need more songs like that. America needs more songs like that. And not just songs either. But works of art be they speeches, paintings, stories, songs, or simply people that aren't afraid to show that they have been born again. 

As a country, we are crumbling. There is no doubt in my mind that we are turning away from our basic foundations which was faith in our Lord Jesus Christ that made us into the nation we are today. 

I started this intending to write a story with these lyrics, but God led me down another path, one that reset my mind on the whole purpose of this blog which was to make America (and the rest of the world but I'm not egotistical enough to claim that yet) think again. So maybe I don't get that hard hitting story that brings in the viewers or that beautifully written poem, but if I have made you guys think about what the Lord with "two scared hands" has done in your life and this world, then I couldn't be happier. 

May this make you think,

Jen

P.S. Does this mean my writers block is over?

How Can It Be?

Hey!

I wrote this a long time ago (when I didn't have writers block) and it is inspired by How Can It Be by Lauren Daigle. 

May this make you think,

Jen

-

Lord,

You have seen my broken,

You have seen me strong,

You have seen me as I weep,

You have seen me as I get back up again. 

You have heard my cries,

You have heard my praises,

You have heard my pain,

You have heard my joy. 

You have held me when I am broken apart,

You have touched my heart with love,

You have wiped the tear from my cheek,

You have grasped my hand, 

And raised me up from the dead. 

How can it be?

"You plead my cause/You right my wrongs/You overcome/You gave your life/To give me mine/And say that I am free/How can it be?"

Here's Some Truth For You

Hey!

So I have been having very bad writers block for a while now and everything I mean to post doesn't seem up to my ususal standards, so I thank you for being patient with me and for not stopping reading (I do periodically check the stats). So this was written by my best friend Abby. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did and as always:

May this make you think,

Jen

-

Do you know what the biggest excuse atheists give against Christianity? “Oh, if God is real, then why is there so much suffering in the world? If He loves us, then why doesn’t He fix it?” I’ll answer the first question first. Why is there so much suffering? Sin. It’s the wickedness of man. God didn’t bring sin into the world, we did. None of the suffering in the world is God’s fault. It’s all our fault. We caused our own suffering, not God. Now for your second question. If God really loves us, then why doesn’t he let us suffer? He can make it all go away, so why doesn’t he? To answer this question, I’m going to paraphrase a song by Christian rapper Lecrae. See, the things is, we don’t understand a good, loving God can exist in such an evil world. Wouldn’t He stop all this evil in the world? But what’s your definition of evil? Evil is anything that’s against good, and since God is good, that means anything that’s against God is evil. So it’s anything morally bad or wrong: murder, rape, stealing, lying, cheating. But what about our own evil thoughts. We all think evil thoughts. We can’t avoid them. We’re all human, fallen from God. So do we want God to get rid of our thoughts? What about lying? We’ve all lied before. So do we want Him to stop all evil, even lying and our evil thoughts? Or do we just want Him to stop a little bit, the bit that we’re not guilty of? If we really want Him to wipe out all evil, we have to be consistent, we can’t just pick whatever we want Him to eliminate. So that means every single one of us would be eliminated, because we all sin. We should all be eliminated. But thanks to God we aren’t eliminated. He saves us and delivers us with His amazing grace even though we don’t deserve it. 

May this make you think,

Abby

Do You Beleive/The Brokeness of that World

Okay, the votes were 50/50 so I decided to post this one first, and then the beautiful woman post next week. So, since this took forever to type up, it got delayed a bit.  I'm sorry!
I hope this makes you think,
Jen
*'s explained at the bottom of the story!!!

-

"Okay, meet at five-thirty tomorrow morning for the Anaheim trip." Her chamber choir nodded in consensus with choruses of "Yes Ms. Smith." and exited the classroom.  She sighed, remembering the last time that she had made the trip to Disneyland. 
~
Percy, Grover, and she were on a break after the Giant War, and she was simply exploring the park with her two best friends. But then God made an appearance. 

As she walked up to Thunder Mountain, she noticed a young girl crying, yet no one else noticed. So she nudged Percy and went over. 

"Hey, are you okay?"

The ten-year-old looked up and shook her head. "My foster mom and I got separated. I'm scared that she won't want me anymore!"

The two locked eyes and a wave of shock ran through the adult demigoddess. "Sarah? Sarah Olivia Smith?" The demigoddess looked in the ten-year-old's eyes for a response. 

"Come on!" She then tried her Spanish nickname. "Don't you remember me, *prima Isa?"

The words sparked recognition in her eyes. "Isa? Is that really you?"

In sync they said, "I thought you were dead!"

Percy and Grover exchanged looks of confusion and wariness. "Uh, Aria? Jewel," Percy used his nickname for you. "how can you tell?"

" 'The eyes are the windows to the soul' are they not?"

"Yes, but-" He was stopped as three hellhounds appeared around them. But even as Percy and Grover readied their weapons, Aria didn't draw hers. Instead her whole life as a demigoddess flashed before her eyes. 

As her time as a demigod passed, Aria found it very uncomfortable to sacrifice and bend to the will of these gods of Greece and Rome. Growing up in a Christian home, she had been taught all about the Living God and Jesus. But when she lost her family to "monsters", she lost all her faith. But, did she ever really have it?

After that, she had taken to the sword and bow with a fury  worthy of Ares himself. Upon her twelfth birthday, she was claimed as a daughter of Athena, and it fit for she favored wisdom, strategy, and crafting. 

But as Aria, or the Jewel of Precious Wisdom as some had nicknamed her, stood and fought for these gods that needed human assistance to survive the littlest thing, she felt disquieted, and at times even angry. Nothing was safe, nothing was sure, nothing was solid, and nothing was true. Every day was the same with no richness, no mercy, no grace, no love shown to one's own brother. 

And what love was there? "Love", nothing but desire, attraction, youth, and life lived too short. Rules were temporary, whatever felt good was right, and if someone stood in the way, they were cut down. 

And as Aria stood there in front of those three hell hounds, she sank to her knees as the goodness, mercy, and grace of The Lord flowed out of the floodgates onto a tired and weary soul. And by The Lord's power, the hellhounds disappeared, and her faith was renewed. 
~
From that day on, as Aria was an adult, she became the guardian of her cousin (once-removed), Sarah. Aria left Camp Half-Blood and moved into her parent's old house. As she had been going to college for awhile and had her teaching degree, she started a job at her old high school as its assistant choir director alongside her old teacher who was thrilled that she returned. 

In Aria's fifth year of teaching, the high school's beloved and blunt choir director retired with a heavy heart, and Aria took up her mantle with every intention to give her all in the mission field that God had given her. 

And every Sunday Aria and Sarah walked to church together along the river of their small town. By this time, years later, Sarah had grown into a woman clothed in dignity and honor, with a gentle and quiet spirit; she was now a beautiful young lady with a heart and soul that feared The Lord. 

Aria still wondered how her friends from Camp had faired in this broken, messed up world, especially those she was close to. Percy, Annabeth, Grover, Malcolm, and Clarisse were forever stamped across her heart, and she prayed for and worried about them unceasingly. 

Percy more than any of them. For years he had been the best friend she could have asked for, and she had left him with only a letter that said "I'm sorry, but I can't live like this anymore. It's not worth it. I love you Perce, you'll always be my best friend in the whole wide world." 

Aria caught herself wondering about him as she fell asleep that night before that Anaheim trip, and he was the first thing on her mind when her her alarm went off at three-thirty that morning. "Okay Sarah, Disneyland awaits."

Sarah waltzed into the room with a smile on her face. "Way ahead of you, **prima." 

And so they spent the next thirteen to sixteen hours with teenagers caffeine high on Monsters, Coffee, and Sugar, so when Aria's feet landed at the festival gates, she wanted to jump for joy. 

The festival finished and her choir did very well, and one of her soloists won an award. Proud but not prideful, she let them run around all day in the "Happiest Place on Earth" the following days with a smile on her face. 

Both Sarah and Aria had a connection to Thunder Mountain, so they stayed pretty near that ride the second day as they were wiped. And as they stood to leave, they heard the clanging metal of an intense sword fight. "Sarah stay here." 

Aria grabbed her sword that she couldn't bear to leave at home. She still marveled at how it passed security. Even rusty after almost ten years of disuse, the sword still felt at home in her right hand where it went on instinct. 

Running, Aria saw a man she never thought that she'd ever see again. And he was battling several hellhounds. Aria's blood ran cold. Softly she started to sing to herself. "There is power in the name of Jesus, there is power, power in his name. One name, one name can save, one name breaks every chain, one name always one name, Jesus." 

And she gathered her resolve, running up to the gigantic demon-dogs. And they cowered in fear of the One who was by her side, He Who Created All Things, The Alpha and Omega, Who Was and Is and Is to Come, and vanished, not to be seen again, leaving a shocked twenty-nine-year-old Seaweed Brain.

"Thank you miss. Can you see through the Mist?"

A bit offended that he didn't recognize her, Aria answered stiffly. "In a way sir. Though I am shocked that you didn't recognize me when we are in Disneyland of all places." 

Turning on her heels, she walked away. Suddenly there was a hand on her arm, stopping her. "Jewel, how could I ever forget?"

Turning around, she smiled an uneasy half-smile. "It was nice to see you again, but I am responsible for a bunch of teenagers on a field trip. I must get back." 

Worried about how easy it was to just grab her sword and how strong the urge to kill the hounds was, Aria tried to walk away, for her faith had faltered. "Lord, please give me the strength I need."

Percy stopped her again. "Come on, it's been a decade. Can we not catch up as old friends?"

She gave in. "Fine Shark Bait, but let me find my cousin first. I left her to go help you."

They walked and found her still by Thunder Mountain. "***¡Prima!¿Estás bien?"

"Yes, we are well Sarah. Just tired. And you, are you well?"

"I am well, cousin. So is this the infamous Shark Bait?"

Percy smiled. "So she does talk about me. Nice to meet you Sarah."

"Nice to meet you too Mr. Jackson. ****Prima, we have one hour until the awards ceremony starts. Shall we get in line?"

"You may if you wish. And would you start texting or calling the chaperones so they can text or call their kids. I'm going to talk with this irritatingly obtuse man-child over here."

Sarah smiled, nodded, and left. "So a school teacher?"

"Like you would have expected anything different."

"True, but why?"

"Simple. It is where The Lord wants me. My passions have always lain there Shark Bait. Just this time I get to teach something that I love."

"You didn't love Ancient Greek or Archery?"

"No. They were simply distractions for my own pleasure. They were what I used to fill the insatiable thirst that could never be filled by any earthly thing."

"The Jewel of Precious Wisdom I knew would never do that."

"You knew me before I knew The Lord, Percy. I don't need to fill the insatiable void with senseless killing anymore."

She  looked into Percy's eyes and could see the same thirst in his eyes that she felt. "Is that why you left?" The hurt in his eyes was self-evident. 

"Yes. I couldn't stand to see the way that Satan has destroyed that community. That thirst and passion would not go away, and the minute I found my cousin, The Lord restarted my dead heart. People say that we were dead in out sins, but they have no idea how true that can be. You can still be living, but your heart is completely dead. There was no love there, none of the love that I was raised with, a love that I couldn't live without as it left a gaping hole in my heart. The Lord never left me, nor did he forsake me. And my life, hasn't been the same since." 

Percy's eyes shone with the same desperate thirst that had filled you. "No god could forgive me, not after I worshipped, loved, and fought for those that were against everything He was for. He would never forgive one who turned away from Him."

***** " 'I am Judas' kiss, but He loves me anyway. I am the man who yelled out from the crowd for His blood to be spilt on this earth-shaking ground. And I turn away with a smile on my face while this sin in my heart tries to bury His grace. Alone in the night I still call out to Him, so ashamed of my life, my life. But He loves me anyway, and its like nothing in life that I've never known.' "

"Percy," Their eyes locked. "If He did not take His own Son down from the cross because He loved us so much, even when we were still dead in our sins, how can you believe that He doesn't forgive you?"

"Tears came to his eyes. "Jewel, I-I can't-".

"Do you believe?"

He looked her in the eyes. "Do you believe?"

"I want to, but-".

"That's not the question. Do. You. Believe?"

"Yes." He stated plain and simple. "I believe."

"Then welcome home, my brother." 

And they smiled.


*Spanish for "Cousin Isa"
***Spanish for "Cousin! Are you well?"
****/**Spanish for "Cousin"
****Paraphrased from How He Loves

Made for Another World

Hey!

So my best friend (who is standing next to me as I type this) wrote this little, but great piece of writing that makes us all (well at least me) rethink some things about my life, so when she wanted to post this, my answer was (of course) yes. Hope you enjoy!

May this make you think,

Jen

-

“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” - C. S. Lewis

Back in 1965, The Rolling Stones (they’re an English rock band, if you didn’t know who they were) wrote a song called (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction. Just think about that title for a minute. Then think about your life. Are you satisfied? Are you 100% happy with your life? Do you have great friends, good grades, cute clothes (if you’re a girl… though I don’t know about all you guys out there…), an iPhone, a nice house? Do you have everything you could ever need or want? Yeah? So shouldn’t that make you happy? If you think about it logically, the answer would be yes, it should. But do you ever feel empty? Like there’s a hole in your heart that you just can’t fill, not matter how much time you spend having fun with your friends or how many A’s you get? Like there should be something more, like you were meant for something more? Like the Rolling Stones, can you get no satisfaction? Well good news guys! There’s a reason for this. Just read that C. S. Lewis quote I put up at the top. See, the reason we feel empty is because we can’t be truly satisfied by the things of this world. Now let’s think logically again (you guys get my Narnia references?). If we can’t truly be satisfied by the things of this world, then how can we be satisfied? Well, in the quote, Lewis says that if nothing in this world can satisfy us, then the only logical explanation (You getting them now?) is that we were made for another world. What world, you’re asking yourself. Narnia? No, don’t be daft, even you know that’s not it. What other world is there? Heaven. Okay, now some of you are saying, “Um, actually, Heaven isn’t another world. It’s where we go after we die.” Well, shut up, you. Stop being such a know-it-all. I know it’s not technically another world. But that’s what Lewis meant. We were all meant for another world, not this one. This world is only temporary, merely a prelude of what’s to come. Because when we die, we’ll come face to face with God, our Father, and that’s when we’ll finally begin living. “But Abby,” you say. “Are you saying that we won’t be satisfied until we die? But that’s such a LONG TIME.” Well, calm down, you’re making me nervous, child. No, I didn’t say that. Listen to the words that are coming out of my mouth. Or maybe I did. Anyways, though, that’s not what I meant. What I said, or meant to say, was that the only way we’ll ever find true satisfaction and peace is in God. Every time you feel empty or like you’re missing something, just pray. Talk to your Heavenly Father, and he’ll give you peace. Remember, we were created for God’s glory. It’s our whole purpose. So if you ever feel like you’re worthless or like your life has no purpose, just remember that. You do have a purpose and you do have a place in this world. You’re God’s precious child and He loves you and you have a purpose in Him.

Peace out, people! (Terminator voice) I’ll be back.

May this make you think,

Abby