God Wants Me as I Am

Around last June, a distant cousin of mine shared his testimony after a missionary trip to Africa. Now, I don't want to misquote him, but he said something like how his mentors always told him to strive to be a better person, but he began to realize he was trying too hard to be someone else - a person others thought he was meant to be - when God had called him only to be himself.

I didn't even realize that I was struggling with the same thing until he said it. I cried with relief that night. Stress had been bringing me down. Every day I would say 'today I will be a better person,' but then something completely out of my control would happen, and I would guilt myself, saying tomorrow I would be better. Just a state of perpetual guilt. This revelation stopped that.

God made me who I am for a reason. I can't keep looking around and comparing myself, trying to be someone I'm not. Yes, people can change, and we should all strive to be better, to be like Jesus, but we can't lose sight of who we are in the process. It becomes an endless cycle of us trying to be different. Trying, only to fail. I compared myself to the people around me, the messages saying that I wasn't trying hard enough, that I could be better, but at the end of the day I was exhausted and it still wasn't enough. I felt like I was failing my purpose. But I think I was looking for God's purpose for me in all the wrong places. When people asked me to do things I felt I couldn't do, it sent me on a guilt trip. For all I thought I knew, I was avoiding my calling. Was this God prompting me? Yet I chose to ignore it? Many thought my excuse of being busy wasn't good enough. Everyone is busy. But I didn't even have time for the things I thought mattered most: family, friends, and church. What I needed to realize is that not everything thrown my way is my calling. Just because I felt guilt doesn't mean I'd done something wrong. God has a special purpose for me, and this might be it. Or it may not be. I was so caught up in this guilt that I forgot that Jesus loves me for who I am now, not who I keep promising I will be. I have a different calling. It is unlike the callings of the people around me, or their expectations of me. Sure God can move mountains, and he can surely do great things through me. But that does not mean I have been called to move mountains. God has something in store for me and he'll use me just the way I am.

"Then Jesus said, 'come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.'"
Matthew 11:28-30

Cracker Run

This is a game my friend and I made up, on a hot summer day with nothing to do.

Players: 2 - 200

You will need:

Per person/team:
- 2 chairs
- 1 sheet
- 1 rubber band/clothes pin

- jump ropes/string/pylons/tape/etc.

- 1 sock/handkerchief each

- variety of balls

- many small items/snacks

Set up:

Each person/team sets up their fort with two chairs, backs facing and several feet apart, with a sheet draped over top.








At one corner, a rubber band/clothes pin is used to keep the sheet in place.







Use the jump ropes/string/pylons/tape/etc. to divide the game space in to two parts, the war zone – which includes the forts – and the cracker run zone, at the furthest point of which lies the small items/snacks (in our case, we used crackers).

The balls are divided equally among the forts. Each player has a protruding sock/handkerchief in their pocket or waistband.

How To Play:

The goal of this game is to get as many points as possible. As stated previously, there are two parts to this game: the ‘war zone,’ and the ‘cracker run zone’ (which, if you’re not using crackers can be called the point zone).

War Zone:

Smaller balls are generally used to hit other players (10 points) and larger balls are super effective for taking down the opponents fort (5 points), though they can both do either. These balls can only be thrown from the fort. Players can hit opponents retrieving balls. Only one ball can be retrieved at a time, and once returned to the fort, can be thrown. In order for a player to be hit, the ball must hit them directly, not through the fort or bouncing. A player in the Cracker Run Zone can not be hit by balls.
A fort is considered demolished as soon as the rubber band/clothes pin comes off. It must then immediately be repaired before anything is thrown from said fort, and before taking to the Cracker Run Zone.

Cracker Run Zone (Point Zone):

Players run through this zone to retrieve the small items/snacks (10 points). As soon as a player crosses the jump rope/string/pylon/tape/etc. line, they can not be hit by balls. In order to stop the opponent from gaining these points, they must try to take the sock/handkerchief from the other’s pocket/waistband. Once a sock/handkerchief is lost, that person must then retrieve it, returning to his/her fort without the small item/snack.
As soon as the runner crosses the line back into the war zone with a small item/snack, that point is theirs and cannot be taken away. However, they are open to fire.

Points:
Broken fort: 5 points
Hit person: 10 points
Small item/snack: 10 points

At the end of the game, points are tallied up, and the person/team with the most, wins!

Add a twist:

- On a hot summer day, runners have to run through a sprinkler to get to the point pile.

- snacks/candy can be used as points, and each team gets to eat their points at the end of the game.

- for a harder game, cracker run points can be stolen, or a jailing system can be added.

(Disclaimer: I do not own the pictures used. They belong to their respective owners.)

Twenty One Pilots 'Stressed Out' Handshake

My friend and I have recently come to like listening to Twenty One Pilots, and in their music video for their song 'Stressed Out,' the two band members meet up with a handshake. A surprisingly long and complicated handshake. Of course, we had to try it.

We found that there weren't many good tutorials out there, mostly just people's recreations, and slowed down videos. We managed, but I thought it might be cool if I illustrated a step by stepp.

So here it is:

Click to see larger

Viola! The illustrations are rather crude, but I wanted it to be quick, easy, and simple.

In the top corners of each step there is the number of the step, and whether you will be using your right hand (R.H.) or your left hand (L.H.).

Let's begin!
You will need:

• a friend / enemy / sister / brother / significant other / fellow fan / cat / dog / lamp
• yourself

Here's how to do it:

1. Clap R.H.s together, passing...
2. and returning with backhand contact,
3. Passing again, clap R.H.s twice.
4. Fist bump twice.
5. (This part gets tricky!) Opening you fist with you and your partner's palms facing outward, hook thumbs. 
6. With thumbs still touching, twist to palms, one going over, the other going under.
7. Grasp the other's hand.
8. Here's where the L.H. comes in. Clap each others R.H.s (pictured next), then above, below...
9. and each other's R.H.s once again.
10. Twist you R.H.s to grasp each other's pinkie with your own. Shake up and down twice, then release on the second descent.
11. Grasp each other's L.H.s.
12. Above your L.H.s, clap your R.H.s twice,
13. Tap each other's left elbows.
14. Tap your own left elbow.
15. Switch from grasping L.H.s to grasping one another's R.H.s.
16. Hug each other with L.H.s.
17. Snap with your L.H. as you pull away.

Let me know what you think!

#twentyonepilots #handshake #tutorial #how-to #step-by-step

12 Books I am Planning to Read in 2015

I found a reading challenge that looks like fun and I love these sorts of things so I am going to try it. The challenge is below and this is my list:

A book you've meaning to read: 'The Book Thief' by Markus Zusak

✔︎ A book published this year: 'All Fall Down' by Ally Carter

A book in a genre you don't typically read: 'Surprised by Joy' by C.S. Lewis
I don't usually read non-fiction, but this one is at the top of my reading list.

A book from your childhood: Ooh... hard choice. Probably 'The Horse and His Boy' by C.S. Lewis.
This was one of my favorites of the Narnia series and I've been dying to re-read it.

A book your mom loves: 'The Screwtape Letters' by C.S. Lewis

✔︎ A book that was originally written in a different language: 'The Elegance of the Hedgehog' by Muriel Barbery
This was originally published in French.

✔︎ A book ‘everyone’ has read but you: 'The Maze Runner' by James Dashner

A book you chose because of the cover: 'The End of Your Life Book Club' by Will Schwalbe.
Not so much the cover, but the title intrigued me. But then the title makes up most of the cover, so...

✔︎ A book by a favourite author: 'Fire and Hemlock' by Diana Wynne Jones

✔︎ A book recommended by someone with great taste: 'The Giver' by Lois Lowry.
Recommended to my several times by my best friend.

✔︎ A book you should have read in high school: Still technically in high school, but I'd have to say 'Emma' by Jane Austen.

✔︎ A book that’s currently on the bestseller list: 'Allegiant' by Veronica Roth