Book Review: So B. It, by Sarah Weeks

What is truth?

Heidi, an extremely lucky girl who lives with her mentally damaged mother and agoraphobic neighbor, sets out to find out that very thing. Heidi's mother, who says her name is So B. It, knows only twenty-three words, mostly basic ones like "bad", "hot", or "done". But when an unknown word, "soof" enters her vocabulary, Heidi becomes obsessed with finding the meaning of the word, and the past of her mother and her. Filled with delightful quirks, like her pack-rat neighbor's P.F (perfectly fine) clothing - held together by staples - and her family's love of Jujyfruit candies, So B. It was a great read.

Told in the relentlessly black-and-white view of Heidi, this book was told like Heidi's life, with little bits and pieces of random instances thrown in. This lent variety, but also made the book a little confusing at times.

I would highly recommend reading this book. I can't do it justice through this meager review.

Being the Hand of God

Often we talk about the will of God without really knowing what we talk about.

Every Christian wants to know and do God's will. We write books about it. We read books about it. We pray earnestly and read the Bible often looking for it.

But what if we become the will of God?

God says in Jeremiah 51:20-23:

"You are my hammer and my weapon of war:
with you I break nations in pieces;
with you I destroy kingdoms;
with you I break into pieces the horse and its rider;
with you I break into pieces the chariot and the charioteer;
with you I break into pieces the man and the woman;
with you I break into pieces the old man and the youth;
with you I break into pieces the young man and the young woman;
with you I break into pieces the shepherd and his flock;
with you I break into pieces the farmer and his team;
with you I break in pieces governors and commanders.

In Jeremiah, God rebukes Israel and Judah for their sin. They have turned their back on him and have followed the idols of their neighbors. As God begs them to return, he pronounces doom upon their enemies if they will only listen. When they listened out for God, and turned themselves toward him and his purposes, he would use them to accomplish his plans.

I think that as believers, our goal in "finding the will of God" is to conform to God (Romans 12:2). If we are listening to him, spending time with him and turning our back on sin, we'll start to become more and more like him.

In the passage above, God says that he will use us as his instruments to break down the strongholds of the enemy.

We are a hammer- sent to build up a temple for Christ in the culture.

We are a weapon of war- chosen to fight against the enemy.

We break apart nations and kingdoms- sifting the wheat from the chaff among our own country

We break apart horse and rider, chariot and charioteer- destroying the weapons of the enemy

We break apart men and women, young and old- separating the old sin from the new grace, breaking apart the stone-encased hearts to speak of the love to be bestowed within.

We break apart the shepherd and his sheep- we see false teachers for what they are and we know how to get rid of them.

We break apart the farmer and his team- we sweep away ordinary people from ordinary lives and show them how God can make them weird for the saving of the world.

We break apart governors and commanders- we take hold of our government for the glory of God.

All of us can do at least one of these things. I believe God will reveal more and more of his will as we become more of his will, ready to break apart the world for his honor.

My Orthodontist is the Devil in Disguise

What can I say? When I run out of things to do, I get new ideas... usually in the form of writing ideas. And you, as my devoted readers (or people who used to be my devoted readers as the case may be) may be the victims, that is, recipients, of this brilliant (?) new idea.

While sometimes time eludes me to write about the profundities that I've discovered (I actually do have some of those, they just take longer to write... I have one about Jeremiah sitting in my 'drafts' folder) I ALWAYS have short stories about life going.

So, I introduce a new feature of my blog: True, Sort-of-True, Not Remotely True and Embellished Stories about Life. I'll let you judge which stories are which.

Without further ado:

My Orthodontist is the Devil in Disguise

So, I've had braces for almost the 18-month slot they allotted me (and if I have to go a day over, I think I will go mad and turn into a werewolf or something)

Let me tell you a little bit about my braces experience:

1. I HATE THEM. I'll tell you that they're not that bad, and they're really not, but I still hate them. It's not so much the braces themselves but rather what I discuss later...

2. I have TMJ. Which means that my jaw clicks and pops and gets stuck sometimes. With braces, it clicks and pops and gets stuck often.

3. I am a rule keeper as it comes to a lot of things. I got this nine-page long braces care sheet when I first got them on and on that nine-page long list sheet was this million-item list titled:

THINGS YOU SHOULD NOT EAT WITH BRACES

So I didn't eat the stuff on there.

4. My friends aren't really rule keepers. They saw THINGS YOU SHOULD NOT EAT WITH BRACES and read it as THINGS THAT YOUR ORTHODONTIST WOULDN'T LIKE YOU TO EAT WITH BRACES BUT YOU CAN STILL EAT THEM ANYWAY.

5. Let's take an inventory of broken brackets my friends have had: 0. Zilch. Nada. Nothing.

6. How about me? Three top wires broken in the same spot. One bottom wire broken. Three brackets broken. Five wires slid out of place.

7. My orthodontist's reaction: Picture the Incredible Hulk. Yup. That's pretty much it.

So, despite the broken wires, brackets and other crazy stuff, I am really really really really really really really really hoping to get my braces off in September like we originally thought. I was going to ask yesterday, but then I got the grumpy lady.

Grumpy Lady took out my wires, ties, and checked my brackets. She was scraping one tooth when her "hand slipped" (though I have my suspicions that she was really some assassin lady who was trying to take me out then and there) and poked my gum hard enough that I bled.. A lance of pain swept down my mouth. Not a great way to start out an appointment.

I was supposed to have a bracket replaced, but they had ran out of that kind. However, apparently my orthodontist (who is really the devil in disguise) has a thing for broken brackets. So, instead of letting me off the hook and going home after my thirty-minute appointment, he gives an evil chuckle to the Grumpy Lady who was really an assassin and said, "Let's give her some new brackets." So, they put brackets on those teeth in the WAY back of your mouth (the ones you can't even see... let alone try to put brackets on)

Oh, and did I mention they had to put a plastic mouth-holder-open in my mouth? That could be the subject of a whole other blog. It's the devil's choice instrument.

So, my orthodontist (who is really the devil in disguise) says to the Grumpy Lady who is really an assassin, "Sneeheeheehee, I don't think I really like the way her front teeth are closing up- LET'S REPLACE THOSE BRACKETS TOO!!!!!!!!!"

And I'm going to end that story there. I wouldn't want to make your mouths ache out of sympathetic agony.

But my dentist experience made me think. As the dentist was taking my mouth apart with a screwdriver, I was left thinking about James, "Consider it pure joy, brethren, when you face trials of various kinds...." I ended up having a nice time with God there, praying (though, I will confess the first part of the prayer was, "MAKE IT STOP!!!!!!"

The other thing was, "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." Sigh..... I guess that means no bragging rights about how I don't eat anything on the THINGS YOU SHOULD NOT EAT WITH BRACES list.

The other thing was, "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." Maybe I'll try that next time I go to see my orthodontist. Shut my mouth at all costs and see if he runs.

You Know You're a Writer When....

... you debate whether or not it's a good idea to actually write today.

I'm having one of my bad-shoulder days. These are the days when I decide that shoulders are evil and of the devil. I get one every couple of months.

When you write as much as I do, eventually your shoulders have had enough! And they tell you that, too. They won't let you write. They just sit there and make your life miserable. (That's why they're evil and of the devil)

So, here I am, trying to decide whether it's a good idea for me to write by hand, or even type. Even this short little warning telling you about the evils of shoulders makes my own squeak in contempt for my lifestyle.

Hope I make the right decision. I wouldn't want other body parts to join the rebellion against writing.

Take a stand for freedom,
Catey

Fifteen

Today's my birthday. I am fifteen. Just for fun, here are some fifteen-item lists about me for the sake of remembrance...

FIFTEEN IMPORTANT THINGS I DID THIS YEAR:
1. We brought home Sam, my baby brother, from Korea.
2. I finished my last year of Squire Christian Writer's Guild.
3. I was invited to write for a website (realteenfaith.com)
4. I went on an insanely long road trip to California.
5. I Bible Quizzed through Awana and took second place (by one question) in the state.
6. I wrote a whole novel and storylined and began two others.
7. I read through over half the Bible.
8. I learned how to harmonize in singing MUCH better
9. Because of that, I helped lead worship for my High School Awana club.
10. I ran through three (count 'em- three) five-subject writing notebooks.
11. I completed my first year of state testing for school.
12. My sister made me my very first character scrapbook.
13. I studied through Romans and Revelation with my Awana group in an in-depth study
14. I started this new site.
15. I learned to love God in a deeper way.

FIFTEEN RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME:
1. I was born in Mountain View, CA.
2. My hair USED to be thirty inches long before the haircut incident... which I will soon be writing about.(It's about twenty-six or so inches long now)
3. My genre of writing is like a eclectic and sometimes disastrous mixing and breaking of forms that I call Revelation fiction, because it deals mostly with the topics of Revelation and other prophecies.
4. I have two cats, and two dogs.
5. My current novel's name is Illumination (one of the places I got Sparks of Illumination from)
6. My room is purple!!!!
7. Some of my favorite authors include: J.R.R. Tolkien, Ted Dekker, Madeleine L'engle, Gloria Whelan and John Perrodin.
8. I always read three books of the Bible at a time- the Psalms, an Old Testament book and a New Testament book.
9. I talk to myself. Not just a little. A LOT.
10. My Quizzing coaches called me everything from "not normal" to "mutant".
11. One of my favorite books in the Bible is Jeremiah.
12. I speak some Latin.
13. My favorite flower is the pansy.
14. I have this thing for pencils. I'll write with anything... but I love the really fine tips on ultra-sharp pencils and pen tips.
15. I am 5'2", usually six to thirteen inches shorter than the people I know....



FIFTEEN OF MY FAVORITE THINGS BIG AND SMALL:
1. Sunshine
2. Sharp pencils
3. My family- Dad, Mom, Joss, Carli, Tim and Sam
4. My friends- all the many I can't name here
5. The Bible
6. Falafel
7. Awana
8. The smell of cinnamon bread
9. Gluesticks
10. Singing
11. Acting
12. Purple
13. Music
14. Elevate worship
15. Jesus

Rethinking Independence

Today is Independence Day. Millions of people across the United States of America will be celebrating this day that changed history, when we declared ourselves independent from Britain and our own country, governed by God and under God.

But is independence really what we're celebrating?

Independence is simply the lack of dependency on anything- a mother country, a monarch. Independence is being NOT a part of something.

Our Constitution declares that the citizens of our country are dependent on each other for the good of all. That we see plainly in all people that they are equal and given certain unalienable rights by God, among these, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

That is not independence from everything. That is dependence on the God who gave us the rights and freedoms that we experience in the United States of America. That is dependency on each other also.

It isn't independence. It's freedom.

Freedom is what gives us the right, unalienable, to have eternal life and to shout that message from every rooftop, hill and church pulpit.

Freedom is what gives us the right to make decisions based on conviction and not fear.

Freedom is what gives us the right to speak out against what is wrong and defend what is right.

Freedom is what our country was founded on, NOT independence.

But are we being given independence or freedom now?

I have loved to say that in America, we have the freedom to choose our religion. And we are. But in the days of "tolerance", our freedoms as Christians are squashed. Right now, the Bible is illegal in my state because it discriminates against homosexuals. Christians are painted in this country as misguided, rigidly conservative, backsliding and above all, judgmental. Tolerance, we are taught! Tolerance for everyone but us?

Movies, books and television with Christian undertones are not accepted by general society. Everywhere non-secular (Christian or not) views are taught, they aren't accepted, not only by many students, but by overseers. (If you haven't seen "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed", it sheds some excellent light on the subject)

What about the rights of parents? Homeschooling was almost made illegal to uncertified parents in the state of California this year.

Maybe it's time to rethink independence. I think we're not looking for that, because it gives us this void, depraved "independence" of God. I think what we're really celebrating- really longing for- is freedom.

So let's remember the freedoms that we may have in this country. Never forget those freedoms and never let them die.

Happy Freedom Day.

Home Again, Home Again

Just a quick note to let you guys know that I am alive and back from California. I'll be updating the site sometime this week with pictures and musings from the road.

-Catey