In Literature last week I had to read Henry David Thoreau's essay "Life Without Principle." I got SO frustrated with it because it was just a bunch of words all jumbled together that just kept going on and on and on and on and on and on... Yes, every once in a while I would get something out of it, but for the most part I thought it was pointless. I even told mom one day "This is so dumb. Its just a guy complaining about people being selfish and not doing anything worthwhile."

DUH! That was EXACTLY his point! And it is so true. But I didn't realize any of that until after I read the analysis.

After about a page and i half of the analysis, the words "want fewer things" popped out at me. Pretty much bit me on the nose..
Thoreau's philosophy is that people should labor not for money but for the love of what they're doing. He argues, "There is no more fatal blunderer than he who consumes the greater part of his life getting his living." Most people do just exactly that. Their lives revolve around their jobs. Making money. Yes, work is necessary to buy and pay for the things we all depend on to live. But the word "need" has become GREATLY confused with the word "want." Thoreau's simple solution? "want fewer things."Well that's easy. we are so consumed with the things we think that we absolutely HAVE to get, that we really don't need at all, that our time and thought is completely caught up in it. Wasted. Most of our wants are pointless things that won't last long, not even to mention last for eternity. So why even bother? We are wasting our precious little time we have here on this earth trying to earn money for these things we don't even need.

"If you don't want much, then you don't have to waste your time working to buy it."

Yes, I know that work is necessary. Just not quite so much of it. Like the father who works all day everyday so he can pay for cable TV, new toys, movies, video games, that new car, the coolest house, the best clothes.. Or the teenager that works on Sundays so they can get some extra money for those new shoes or go to that concert or get that latest movie or game.
Tell me, in the end, would spending that time with those kids daddy, or those new toys benefit them more?
Thoreau admits that without working a lot you WILL have less, but he values his time more than his paycheck.

The 2nd thing that stood out to me:
Wasting time with media and games... things that are supposed to be an occasional treat. But instead have become an everyday occurrence.

And that goes right along with the 3rd thing that stuck out to me!
"Read not the Times. Read the Eternities." In other words, don't focus our attention on what seems so important today, at the moment. The stuff that we'll forget about in a few weeks, or days.. or hours! We need to focus our attention on things that will really matter for a very long time. Like say... oh... our LIFETIME?! or how about... try... ETERNITY! Good healthy Relationships, people in need, furthering the kingdom of heaven, taking care of ourselves and our world.

4th point:
Lots of that precious time I'm talking about that we waste, is wasted on other peoples problems, their business. Something that has nothing to do with us! WHY? I don't know... but we all do. We just HAVE to get involved..

Just some things that made me think. And I know that some of these things don't apply to all of us. But most of them do.

And I don't agree with everything Thoreau said. But He's on the right track.

Faith

Schoooool

I started school on Monday and finished a whole physics book in one day! Exciting stuff right there! Now just 3 left. The other 3 are quite a bit larger though.. so they'll take longer. That's okay though. Band is going well! I like the songs we're playing. I'll like them tons better when I can actually play them too! :) Choir is... well... Lets just say I didn't exactly want to be in choir but its still going pretty well. I'm excited about starting my photography class again!

Sarah and I are re-doing our. EXCITING! I've never gotten to do that before. :) It should be fun.
I bought two paint canvases today at hobby lobby so I'm hoping to have some fun with that sometime soon too! :) Painting a canvas is on my "to-do in 2009" list. Along with.. painting an old wooden chair, Paint my room green, (which I am in the process of doing!), read through the Bible, volunteer at the pregnancy crisis center, and lots of other stuff. So far I have 3 or 4 things crossed off. Anyway.. I gotta go. Thanks for reading!

Faithy

Senior Year

Well, today is the first day of home school classes for this semester. (Ugh..) I'm taking band, choir (by force) and photography. Photography doesn't start for 4 weeks though because it is only an eight week class.
With my PennFoster high school program I'm doing I have 39 lessons until I'm completely done. Its a do it at your own pace kind of thing so I'll have to be very diligent this semester to get it all done in order to graduate and go to cosmetology school this spring. I think I can handle it though. :)

This has been the best summer ever! Although, it went by extremely fast! I have yet to stay in the new dorm at the camp (its on my to-do list!) I'll also have to have a party in the newly re-done managers house! (Thank you Eternity Focus!)
We had yet another summer of AMAZING camps where lives, hearts, & attitudes were changed. Although it was extremely hard at times, all of the decisions for Christ made it WAY more than worth it!
It sad that camp is all over for the year and that its time to go back to school but I think I'm finally almost ready for it. I'm excited about seeing the trees change colors, the fall decorations come out, and the summer clearance to go on sale!

With this being my last year of high school my verse for now is Jeremiah 29:11. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you, and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future."

Thanks for reading,

Faith Myranda

Summer Wrap-Up

Summer was SO great! It went by extremely fast though. I finally got my Ipod and money and everything back this week though! That was nice. I have about half of my senior year left so I'm finishing high-school then planning on going to Adam and Eve School of Cosmetology in Independence Missouri. That should be fun! Also very helpful.

That's all I have for now.

BiG Bummer

Joseph and I took Hummer to the Olathe Pet Hospital yesterday. He is FREE of heartworms. His Lungs are clear. He is a healthy puppy dog. :)

On the way home from the vet we stopped in to watch my cousins baseball game. (GO TY!) It was a good time. :) Me and Tess talked a lot which is always fun. :) lol

Then Joseph and I were leaving and as we were pulling down the road I started SEARCHING for my Ipod because I was going to use my FM adapter to make it play over the radio for us. BUT... I couldn't find it so Joseph turned around so we could go back and look on the parking lot to see if it feel out of the van or something. We searched and searched the car and about then is when we realized that the people two cars down from us were searching THEIR car also. So Joseph asked them if they were missing something and they said that their car had been broken into and someone took their GPS but got spooked by someone who saw them so the thief threw the GPS back into the car and ran off.

So we went back into the ball park to report our car getting broken into also. The people at the park called the police. We got to ride in the golf cart out to our car to meet the police there. (awesome :P) So Officer Morton got all of my information (While he was getting my information a kid come up and asked the officer if he was going to be moving his car anytime soon because his police car was parked right in front of HIS car and he said that his parents wanted him to move the car closer. But Officer Morton said that he would just have to wait. lol) and I reported what was missing and everything and then the guy (Aaron) who saw it all, came out to tell Officer Morton what he saw. So Aaron is describing to the officer what he saw and he is giving a description of the people and their car. And about then is when I realize that in the spot where the other people who were missing stuff (They had left earlier) there was now a car there with two kids in it THAT MATCHED THE DESCRIPTION PERFECTLY. So I told Officer Morton that I was pretty sure that those people were two cars down from us. (THE SAME KID WHO ASKED OFFICER MORTON TO MOVE HIS CAR A LITTLE BIT AGO!) Then Aaron confirmed that that was the same car and same people so officer Morton arrested them. He put the guy in the back of his car and handcuffed the girl and had her sit on the front of the car until another cop got there. Then they started searching the car and sure enough they found my Ipod AND also our power inverter which we didn't realize was missing. Then after a little more searching the Officer asked me if I was missing any money and I told him My wallet was still in my purse but that I would check inside of it.

Guess what.
Yeah.

I had just been paid the day before for work so I had $125 in my wallet. Well I thought I did anyway. When I looked it was EMPTY! So I told him that my money was gone and told him how much ($125) and he showed me that he found exactly that much in the car. My Ipod had a pink silicone cover on it and the FM converter box connected to it when it was in my car but when they found it in the kids car it was just the ipod hidden under a toy truck in the trunk. So I told them that there was no way he didn't take the case and converter also because they are BOTH hard to get off of the Ipod. So officer Morton let me help search the car and after about 10 minutes I found the FM converter box under the car seat in the back seat. Then I looked some more for the case but couldn't find it. So I went back and sat with Joseph and Hummer on the grass (The poor dog is with us this whole time.) Then Joseph thought he saw something under the car next to us and told me to look there but it was just a piece of trash but that made me want to look under the kids car. SO I did and sure enough he had thrown the case under the car. So after finding ALL of my missing items he told us a little bit about how the court will contact us about a court date and he gave me his card with the case number on it.

Then he said "Okay, now this is the part that REALLY sucks. Its really good that we found the guy AND all of your stuff, but I can't give you any of your stuff back. I have to keep it as evidence until court is over. I'm so sorry."

So I asked how long he thought it would be until it was all over with and I could get my stuff back and he said he didn't really know but he hoped it wouldn't be many many months. He said probably around six months.
:(
Big bummer.

We were there 3 extra hours because of this whole thing and I was EXHAUSTED because it had been a long day, plus by this time I was all stressed out because of it all. And I was mad at the people who stole the stuff. And now I have NO Ipod (that I just got) and NOOOOOOO money. And I felt sick to the stomach because of it all.

Boo.
 Anyway, I have been trying to keep Colossians 3:2 in mind. "Set your hearts on things above and NOT on earthly things."

I also learned to be more careful not to leave things in the car. (Even though it was locked)

Yeah so that was my crazy night last night. Hummer is glad to be home and so are Joseph and I.

I hope I didn't bore you with my story.

Faithy

S U M M E R

And so it all started.. on the twenty ninth day of the fifth month. And what might you ask is starting?

Dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnn... CAMP! Today at 5:oo leadership training starts. And from here on out its GO GO GO until about September. And then... Its right back to school again. The never ending circle of Faith Williams life. Which is NOT necessarily a bad thing. Just sometimes... its can get really old. BUT I love it! I can't imagine my life being any different. Well... maybe a little. ;)

Anyway, time to go get on with life. (Camp)

I hope to have time to post some during the summer.

Faithy

Disappointment

Isn't it sad how someone we look up to and respect or someone that is a good friend can do one little tiny thing and we lose total respect for them? Living at the camp.. its hard to see people come to camp on a "Jesus high" and they seem so on fire and just like a perfect little christian but then when you see them away from church and camp they are totally opposite. Completely different. UGH! I'm not saying I'm perfect or anything. No way! We all make mistakes. We're human. But.. It just shows how very careful we have to be with everything we do and say. Every place we GO. Everything we listen to. And drink. And look at. If people (non-Christians mainly)see us doing one little thing and they think "Look at them? They are doing the same exact thing as everyone else. So whats the point?"
We have to be careful. Even if it APPEARS we're doing something but we might really not be.

I don't want to be one to lead someone else astray.

Sunshine and Fireflies :)

Hey hey! So, Hopefully I have more to tell about my last post soon. But right now I can't talk about that. :) So I'm going to talk about HOW EXCITED I AM ABOUT SUMMER! Today it was 80 degrees! :) Awesome. I cleaned the apartments at the camp for a long time and Worked in the office for a while. Then went to check out the pool. :) Took the corner of that tarp off and.................... IT'S CLEAR! :) YAY! It just needs some major vacuuming. I think we'll probably open it sometime in the next two weeks of we get a chance. I Absolutely can not believe that camp starts at the end of this month. Its ridiculous! But very cool at the same time. Today I got a letter in the mail from Penn Foster, (The high school from which I get my school curriculum.) saying that I need to pick my electives so that I can finish up and GRADUATE! A very scary thought, yet very exciting at the same time... Anyway, I just have to finish up my physics and literature and then do my 5 electives and I'm done done done! These are the electives I chose. (Don't laugh. :P ) 1. Spanish 2. Floral Design 3. Teacher Aide 4. Catering/Gourmet Cooking 5. Keyboarding and Word Processing So we'll see how that goes. :) There were so many choices! So I Chose floral design because I was thinking that might be a fun job to get next fall when i start looking for a job next fall. And Gourmet cooking, because i like cooking and I cook a lot at the camp. Anyway, enough about school. Faith Myranda

Proverbs 3:5-6

Wow.

The last two days have been unbelievably CRAZY! Extreme home makeover is looking for a St Joseph Area family! Soooooo people have been telling my family we should apply. My mom e-mailed our families story to them on wed. at 4:00 pm and by 5:30 pm WE GOT A CALL FROM EXTREME HOME MAKEOVER say that we need to fill out the (long) 19 page application and make a home video of a tour of the house along with pictures of the house. That is a lot to do in 24 hours!

It is very preliminary. VERY VERY preliminary actually. It is just the normal application like anyone else has turned in. But it is still very exciting. Its one of those things where you think "That kinda of stuff doesn't happen to me.." BUT all we can do is wait on the Lord. Wait for HIS plan. Because no matter what His plan is, it will always be better than ours no matter what we might think.

While previewing the video that we made before we sent it to them today my family laughed SO much. And the best part was that we were laughing at ourselves! When we would get tongue twisted or couldn't think of a word (I couldn't think of the word "fireman..." haha).

Anyway, right now we are just waiting on the Lord to see if this is His plan for our family's lives. If this is what is best for us. Best for the camp. Best for HIS glory.
My mom said the other day "Some trust in chariots, some trust in horses, some trust in extreme home makeover, but we trust in the name of the LORD our GOD!" How true is that? So... I am working on trusting in God on this. Just waiting on Him.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart. Lean not on your own understandings but in ALL your ways acknowledge HIM and HE WILL make your path straight.


In HIS everlasting arms,
Faith

Those who stand for nothing fall for anything.

"Those who stand for nothing fall for anything."

There is a sign hanging in the hall at camp that I have to walk past every time I go to work in the office. Today it cuaght my special attention. I thought about it a lot. "Those who stand for nothing fall for anything." It is so true! If you don't have any "boundaries" or anything like that, you have to make make them up as you go. And sometimes its too late.

What do you stand for?

April 16 2009

Another beautiful day in April. :) The sun is shining and the trees are starting to bud. I love spring so much! A sign of new life. (And its a perfect time to take some awesome pictures!)
Have you ever been asked a simple question, and it turned out to not be quite as simple as it was supposed to be? You ended up thinking about it allllll day. Maybe even for a few days? And I don't mean a question like "Do fish sleep?" (I was wondering that the other day... I always have. No they don't sleep but they DO "rest." They lower their energy level but never become unconscious like we do. In case you were wondering.) Anyway, back to the deep questions. Here's one.

Do you live to please, or live to Be pleased?

I've been thinking about it... a lot. Do I live to please myself or do I live to please God and others? Well, I KNOW for a FACT that even if I do live to please God and others... its not NEAR as much as I should. I find myself thinking about what would benefit ME. What would help ME out. What I can do for ME. When really... in the end.. It will all be gone and forgotten. But when we live to please God and others there are eternal benefits! Crowns of glory. Long lasting friends.
Now that you're thinking about it... as you have to make decisions the next few hours, and hopefully days or more, you'll find yourself asking "Will this benefit ME or will it benefit God and others?"

April 15 2009

The sun is shining and its a wonderful new day. At church every Sunday there is a man who asks how I am and when I say wonderful he asks if it is the best day of my life. Well now each time my answer is "YES." But the first time he asked me I said something like "I could probably think of a better day.." then he said. "Oh, no, it IS the best day of your life. Because it is the ONLY day of your life. Yesterday is gone, and there might not be a tomorrow."

Just something to think about. Along with another of my pictures.

Have a FABULOUS best day of your life. :)

April 14 2009

So, I've been saying I would start a blog for a long time and it has never happened. Anyway, here it goes! We'll see how well I keep up with it. This year has been a big growing time for me. I have had lots of trouble sleeping/falling asleep the last few months which has, in turn, made my prayer life SO much better! (Laying in bed not being able to sleep is the perfect time for a wonderful talk with your creator.) I often find myself talking to God more often without even thinking about it. At first I was So frustrated and tired all the time. I just wanted to precious sleep. But now I'm thankful for it. Although I am sleeping much better now, I am still so much closer to God. :) I've been enjoying my photography this year more than ever. I'm taking a photography class and I just took my "mixed media" assignment to class today and its going on my wall. :) When you take time to take photos you see so much more beauty in everything. It pops out at you more. God is so amazing. He is my art teacher, and I have SO much to learn from him.