All that comes with life...

Well, there's a lot of it... I have a pressing question about my journey with my friends... I've been hanging around with a group of kids that I consider to be my best friends. These guys are great, and sure to have my back in any and every situation. I trust them...

But I'm concerned. I've seen the negative effects of careless words and behavior, and the I mean the worst effects of it. My friends, though they don't know it, have been carelessly speaking and saying things that could really hurt people. Okay, they're not that naive, they know they can hurt people with what they're saying. They don't seem to care though, and it makes me a little upset.

Teasing and that kind of stuff is one thing, but they've persisted beyond that. Insults to others are constantly flying from their lips. Things like race, sex, or just subtle differences between themselves and other people set on a barrage of terrible words that can last for ten minutes straight. Although it's just fun in their eyes, it's become monstrously vulgar and offensive speech, and I don't think they have a clue what their words mean.

I'm not saying they sincerely believe what they're saying, but that's just it, I really don't know. It's constant, habitual. One day, they could run into big problems with that kind of talk, and hurt themselves or others. In a few cases, the things they say do end up hurting others that they don't even know, and I know for a fact that that kind of thing is dangerous.

I don't know how to confront them on this issue. Three out of theese four, I believe have a love for God, and have confessed such a thing. Despite that, I just can't stand what their speech has become, and I don't know what to do or say.

Maybe it's no big deal? Or maybe I see that this is hurting people and I need to say something to them...

anyone with helpful words for me? Or them?

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...

Mr. Publix vs. the "Shark"

Mr. Publix was tired. He had just woken up, and was working at 7:00 on a Saturday morning. He tried his best to keep a good attitude, and at the moment, it was working. That changed soon. A short, old, round man stepped into the room, with a plastic, but maniacal smile. He went into the break room to punch in. He came back out of the break room with a Miami Dolphin's shirt on, and still wearing that smile.
He went to a superior, and she gave him an assignment. He began to take plastic bags from boxes, and store them in plastic bins underneath the bagger platform at the end of the check-out aisle. He looked over at Mr. Publix, and read his name tag aloud.
"Mr. Publix, would you take these and put them in the bins?"
Mr. Publix looked over at the man, and politely did the job the best he could, not denying the man a favor. Suddenly the man sounded angry.
"No, no." He walked over to Mr. Publix, and told him how to do it.
Mr. Publix did his best, and this time with some more knowledge on the task at hand. However, no matter how Mr. Publix did the job, he couldn't do it right for this man. Mr. Publix stopped doing the job, and waited for the man to walk somewhere else. He looked over at an agent only one rank above him. A rank labeled "cashier." Her name was Veronica.
Mr. Publix leaned over the counter, and asked. "What is that guy's name, and what is his rank?"
Veronica looked at Mr. Publix, and said "We call him the 'Shark.' He's just a bagger like you. He picks on the new people, trying to get them to do jobs his superior asks him to do. Don't take orders from him. He's as much of a rat as he is a shark as well. If he sees you do something wrong, he'll run right to Andy, and tell him. Don't do what he tells you. He is not your superior. The only reason we keep him is because he can wear that smile all day to make our customers feel welcome."
Drat! Just when Mr. Publix thought all employees were good. That fantasy just had to be ruined, didn't it? Now Mr. Publix was perplexed. He had had trouble with this "Shark" guy before. This was not the first time. How to handle it though? At first, Mr. Publix thought he should heroically punch the old man in the jaw. After all, the "Shark" could end up a worse nemesis than that runaway shopping cart. He suddenly realized that an action so cruel as that would not be so heroic. He also realized that the "Shark" was not his enemy. The pain and laziness the "Shark" harbored was his worst enemy. That's right, even worse than cart. He knew from his readings of the Bible that the only thing that can cure him of that is God's grace. The only way for humans to make a man open to seeing God's grace is to be "...wise as a serpent, and gentle as a dove..." Act just as Jesus would. That would require a lot of heroic effort. With God's help, Mr. Publix can do it. He can cure the "Shark."

Distress on Indiantown (Pt. 2)

Jess stopped at Maddie's house, and said goodbye to someone now invisible to her. She didn't hear a response either. She let out a long sigh, and pulled out of the concrete driveway. She drove out of the neighborhood, and came up on the Walgreen's to the left. The traffic light was red, and she was at least not insane enough to drive right through it. She looked to her right at Johnathan, who was placidly looking out of the window. The thunder roared in her head as the light turned to green. She didn't let off of the brake, but instead doubled over with a splitting headache. She saw that neither Johnathan or Rebbecca would even speak to ask what was wrong. Neither of them were even looking over at her. She was going insane. This was proof. She wasn't even sure she had left the beach a few minutes ago even. None of this was normal. Her brother and sister were never so apathetic as to leave her doubled over in pain. Her world spun with thoughts about where she was and what was going on. She might of been at the beach still, or in her bed asleep. Maybe she actually was here right now with thunder at surreal volumes in her head, and uncaring siblings. She managed to look back up at the traffic light to see it was red again. Thankfully no one was behind her. Her headache subsided a bit, and she looked for the light to turn green. It did, and she drove. She felt dizzy. She began to overcompensate for the wheel alignment, and ended up careening down Military. She couldn't stop. She suddenly found herself face-to-face with a palm tree.
Strange. Palm trees didn't belong in the road. Of course, cars didn't belong in the median did they? She suddenly panicked. Johnathan Rebbecca! Were they okay? She looked back. She looked, but didn't see anything. Were her eyes closed? She forced them open. She still only saw black. She looked back ahead, the palm tree was still there. Nothing else. She kept her head forward, and felt for her seat belt. It was still there. That's what she felt, not what she saw. She was not calm in the least. She couldn't think. The only thing she seemed able to do was hyperventilate, and stare at the palm tree.
"Okay." She told herself. "I'm dreaming. I'll just wake up soon, and things will be fine. My family will be back, and I'll be in my bed. Come on, just find a way to wake up."
She began to feel sweat. She turned. She felt attacked. She didn't see anything. Her mind was being attacked, but she knew she was dreaming. She woke up, and tried her best to stifle a scream.

When I first heard of "night terrors," -the nightmares some have that are so horrific that when they wake up, they can't seem to remember what they dreamed about, or even if they dreamed, they could only remember that they woke up scared to death- I had wondered what it was people dreamed about that was so horrific. It's probably worse than what I thought up here, but I just guessed. What is it that could be so horrifying that they wake up in cold sweat with a scream of terror? It scares me trying to think about it.