The game I've been waiting for

Okay, so this is the face of Super Smash Brothers Brawl, the third game in the greatest fighting game series ever, Super Smash Brothers. For those of you who know me, you know I'm not just good, but really good at the other two Smash Brothers games that came out in 1997 and then 2001. This, however, will be the ultimate, ultimate Smash Bros. game ever made. There's only one problem there has been with this game is the wait. It started out with a deadline of October 3rd of 2007. It was later pushed back to Dec. 3rd of 2007. At the time, no big deal, but then, even worse, it was pushed even further back! January 10th of 2008!!!! I was getting a little frustrated with the makers and other such nintendo-game-making-folk, because I had actually been saving some money and stuff. You know, I still have it, and a lot more (for a 16 yr. old, Publix pays a good amout of money, and when there's not all that much to spend it on, there's a lot to keep.) So, after it was January 1st, I thought, "Oh, yeah! Ten days 'till..." But, no! There were a couple more push backs of the deadline that the nintendo people thought were necessary. So, they said "Another month, February 10th." Still a lie. In the middle of January, they said "March 9th." Now, that is thankfully the official due date of the game in America, as it is already being sold in Japan starting today. *Whew!*
Now that I'm assured it will come out when they say it will, I now challenge anyone brave enough to step to me in any of the former two! Bring all your Smash Bros. skill and knowledge, and see if you can surpass mine!!!! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Former public-schooler's insight.

You know, I'm finding a reason to learn while I'm doing this homeschool thing. Even math is becoming exciting to me. My reason? God wants me to explore His creation and learn about it so that I can function in it. It makes sense if you have any kind of theistic view that isn't atheism. So, I comfortably take my stand with my reason that I learn. Most of the books I read are Christ-centered, and give me motivation for doing work. It's sad though, because in public school, that's not quite the case.
What I discovered about public school is that, because there is no theistic belief, they have no reason to learn. I used to hear these words, verbatim, from many of my public school peers: "What's the point of learning this?"
Then the teacher says, "It will help you in college."
The student then asks "Why do we need it in college? I'm not aiming to: be a mathematician, scientist, author, travel to France etc..."
The conversation ends when the teacher says (no longer verbatim) "Just memorize it today, and regurgitate it tomorrow on the test so I can prove to my boss that I told you something he/she wanted me to."
What's the problem here? The kids aren't interested because they have no reason to be.
Me? I hate math. I struggle with it, and I'm terrible at grasping mathematical concepts, but I want to learn it. Why? Because the God who created it fascinates me, and so, math fascinates me. The public school kids, unless they, themselves are Christian, have no reason to learn it. Simply because even in highschool, they have a pretty good idea that if there is no god, and their lives are finite that they'll just end up going to college, being successful, maybe, then dying. Whether they acknowlege it or not, they know it's true. They have no reason to learn simply because the only reason to do so is no longer allowed in school. God is no longer allowed in school. It's sad, but true. What will fix it? Good question...

I just thought I'd like to ask...

What does the word "free" mean to most people. Do you think that the "free" our forefathers died for is the same "free" that Jesus says we are? How many definitions of "free" are there? I'm pretty sure that there's only one in the dictionary, but I've had a few Christians tell me that I wasn't really that free. So, I don't get it. Is it possible to be half free? Does that make any sense? Here, this is what it looks like to me...

married woman: "Mom, good news, I'm pregnant!"

mother: "really? you're having a baby?"

married woman: "well, no, mom... Geeze, I'm not that pregnant."

Well, I've had conversations like that about freedom. "Oh, we're not that free." Well, I'd like to know how that's even possible. It seems nonsensical, illogical, and pretty unbiblical.
It's wrong. I believe that I am completely free in Christ, and if you think I'm going somewhere I shouldn't with this, well, too bad, I'm going there. You know, I am totally free to mess up even if I am saved. God will love me no less. I am completely free to sin, sin, sin, and God will love me no less. Do I want to? No, not particularly, but if God is truly as strong as we say He is, then He can hold on to us even if we sin. And Jesus' blood really makes that possible when He says we are free, He really means it. We can still choose, but seeing as if we're saved, we know that we are new creatures, and most likely, we have experienced God's UNCONDITIONAL love for us, which means, with God having given His new creatures the ability to understand and reflect that love, then we should want to reflect it because we enjoy it so much that we want other people to see it, and you know what's capital in God's love for us? He made us free. Completely and totally free of any bondage of anything of any control by anything or anyone. Free free free free free free free!!!! F-R- double E FREEEEE!!!!!
So, you know what that means? We're free to be His, and free to make mistakes and still be loved. We're free to love, free to dance, sing, laugh, and even sin. We're free in all things. And, even though we're free to sin, we are no longer bound to sin, but rather we are bound to a victory in Christ. This is the freedom He has given us. That's all freedom has ever meant. Our rights to choose as human beings do is what we have fought for, and what Jesus has already won.

I found these awesome pics of objects in our solar system compared in size to stars and things visible from earth. These pictures are set to
scale, so you'll find a new understanding to the term "it's a small world," and also a new way to ask the question, "why did God choose us?"

Let the Wellabration Commence!!!!

This once-a-year, first-day-of-the-new-year celebration was held six days ago at Mike Bishop's house with all the festivities I could have hoped for on New Year's Eve. The glow of fireworks, and small, destructive children with sparklers. High-spirited adults with recently emptied wine glasses in front of them. The satisfying taste of sparkling cider, either grape or apple, deliciously sliding down the throats of those not old enough for wine. If you enter Shawn Bashor's man-cave, you'll find crazy men playing WWE on the XBox 360, beating the virtual crud out of each other. My friend Josh nearly blowing his ears out with bottle rockets that he didn't quite let go of in time, and concerned mothers gasping at his daring feats. A couple full rounds of "cops and robbers", arguing about whether the star in the middle of the sky was Mars or Jupiter, and wellabrating like no one else could dream of. Screams and shouts of delight rang from the Bishop's house like from no other house in Jupiter Florida, and the smiles on people's faces as they left the party proved that NOBODY wellabrates like we do.