Crafts Gone Bad

I am not anything like my sister and fellow author. We may have some common interests........ but there aren't many. Ally Pie is the firstborn in my family. I am the second born. Ally's interests consist of anything artsy. The best I can do is draw "stick figures". Many times Ally, being the wonderful sister that she is, has attempted to help me get in touch with my artistic side. Here are a couple of tragic things that happened........

.......jabbed myself in the gut with a knitting needle

.......painted myself blue

.......sewed my finger to my embroidery

.......stapled my toe with a stapler (interesting and painful story)

.......swallowed a glass bead

.......breathed in chalk dust

......super glued my right hand to a table(Didn't get it off for days)

......poked myself in the eye with a popsicle stick

......accidentally covered my body with a green Sharpie (people thought I was sick)

......quilted my shirt to a blanket

......set my hair on fire(i still have some left)

I have learned that I will never be like Ally. God created me(thankfully) with other gifts and abilities. If we were all the same, what would be the fun of living? Be happy in your uniqueness!!!!!!!!

1 Corinthians 12:12 "The body is a unit, though it is made
up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ."

Time's Up

Today is my day to write. That's all there is to it. I must try to think of some funny story with a moral to share or maybe even an amusing picture that makes you (and I) laugh. But so far this post has not contained anything of the like. Do you know why? It's because I ran out of time.

Time. Sometimes it seems to crawl by and other times it feels like it never will slow down enough for you to use your inhaler. Only recently did I really notice how much time I waste during the day.

A few minutes gabbing on the phone, a half an hour scanning through a magazine, an hour reading articles on the internet, or maybe even two hours spent emailing friends. Not to say that any of these things are necessarily bad, it's just that lately I have used up a lot of precious time.

I enjoy watching medical shows. Not the really graphic ones, but the informative kind. Every time I watch a show where someone comes close to death, I am reminded of how short and fragile my life on earth is. Have you ever thought of what people would say about you at your funeral?

Some would probably want to be remembered because of their scientific or literary achievements. Others might desire remembrance because of their wealth, but I want to be remembered for a different reason. To have people say that they could see my fire for Jesus lived out through my daily life would be the ultimate compliment.

I want to be remembered for my diligence in studying God's Word and knowing it inside and out. I want to be remembered for praying short but sincere prayers. I want to be remembered for my close relationship with my Savior, Jesus Christ. I want to be remembered for my deeds done in the humility that come from being a servant of Christ.

We sow the seeds of righteousness through our actions, and someone else will come along after us and reap the harvest. Now that I have said all that, don't you want to be remembered too?

Isaiah 3:10 "Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds."

Wacky Web-Pic Wednesday #3

Wacky Web-Pic Wednesday is here again!!!! This time we found something a little bit "different" from all the other WWPW pictures. It isn't necessarily "gross", or something that after seeing I feel woozy. The only classification I could come up with is "disturbing." I am open to suggestions.

Take a good hard look at it...................................................................ok ok that's enough.

OooooooOoooooo....... The "Cat Tram" is coming to a stop. ALL ABOARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whew. I think this one is cool. But it does bring some questions to mind....

Is that natural?

How much did they pay him to lay on the board so they could take a picture?

Is that comfortable?

Maybe I should try it.........

An Essay on Sponges

Music plays an important role in my day to day life. I constantly have music blaring in my room, on my ipod and in my car. When I exercise, I normally have earphones in. When I am mowing the lawn or pulling weeds, I'll be rockin' out. Having music playing even helps me to think and write more easily.

This tradition of listening to music was started by my parents when I was very young. We always listened to K-love in the car, and we often played Cd's while in the house. Sometimes Saturday night turned into jazz night with my mom pulling out oldie moldies like Kenny G or the Yellowjackets.

My parents have always been careful to guard the malleable minds of my sisters and I. "Garbage in, garbage out" my mom would always say. Since she knew our impressionable minds would soak up everything indiscriminately like a sponge, she previewed everything. Now, looking back, I am glad she kept my brain from hearing things that would have shocked me. Gradually, she has let me see just enough of the gross side of the world to make me disgusted.

Our brains can be compared to many things like computers or alarm clocks, but I think they share many characteristics with sponges. When I clean water up using a sponge, I can't choose to only wipe up the clear liquid and leave the foul water behind. I get everything together. Same with our minds. I can't watch a movie and come away only remembering the good parts and promptly forget the perverse or offensive parts. I will most definitely remember the bad sections, maybe even more clearly than the wholesome lines.

Our minds are impressionable even when we have grown up enough to think that we are grown up. How many times have I overheard conversations between kids my age listening to offensive music because it's what is popular at the time. And as much as no one likes to admit it, those things that we say won't effect us really stick in our minds. Garbage-like images, lyrics, and lines are remembered so easily that sometimes it scares me.

Why would anyone want to put watermelon rind, chicken bones, moldy cheese, weird-smelling ham and leftover peas into their bodies on purpose? Garbage has its place: in the garbage can.

Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

Word of the Week #3

Malleable adj. 1. Capable of being shaped or formed, as by hammering or pressure: a malleable metal. 2. Capable of being altered or influenced; tractable; pliable: the malleable mind of the pragmatist. --- See Synonyms at flexible.


Example Sentence: Since Mary was a compliant individual, the kids at school often called her Malleable Mary.

A Memory Like an Elephant's

Jake has the memory of an elephant when it comes to food. The ironic thing is that Jake is not an elephant; he's a cat. As a routine animal, he knows the exact time his chow should be in his bowl. If I am running a little late or get busy doing something else, Jake will remind me that it's time to eat by meowing loudly, batting at my legs with his paws or even chasing my little sisters. As soon as I start to walk in the general direction of the laundry room, Jake races ahead to wait impatiently next to his bowl.

He also knows how much I normally feed him. If I accidentally give him a smaller serving than I regularly do, he will eat what he has and demand more. He is very persistant and won't retreat until he has had his fair share. By chasing, crying, batting, and boxing he will eventually convince me to give him a little bit more.

As soon as he has been given his correct daily portion, contentment and rest immediately follow. He understands that dinner will come in due time, and after he has had the right amount, he won't get anymore until he needs to. Breakfast is normally followed by a 9 hour nap in the sun which ends abruptly when his serving dish is rung for dinner. At the sound of me clanking the bowls, crunching of the bags of food and the closing the closet door, Jake's attitude is always the same.

"I NEED this food so badly that I can't wait another second, and if you make me wait, I may do something drastic."

We should all imitate Jake's behavior when it comes to spending time in God's Word, and should constantly desire the communication with Him, not resting until we have been filled spiritually. The desire to seek wisdom and knowledge should consume our every thought until we have sat before His throne and passively received our daily quotient of His strength and power. We need to crave our quiet times with God since it is the only place where we can be still and be filled at the same time.

Proverbs 4:7 "Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding."

The Joy of the Lord

Below I posted some pictures of animals being happy. I hope they make you smile.

I hope you enjoyed yourself. God doesn't want us to go around looking depressed. Let's be happy and smile!! Now let's go demonsrate the joy of the Lord to the world!!!! Who's with me?

Wacky Web-Pic Wednesday #2

It is once again time for Wacky Web-Pic Wednesday, and I have found something special for today. I think we could safely classify this pic as modern art. Why? Well, you see, if you are brave enough to venture into a modern art museum, you probably won't escape without being asked this strange question.

"So, how does this make you feel?"

In my personal experience whenever I look at modern art, it makes me feel sad. And I like cats, so to see one humiliated in this fashion just isn't right somehow. This picture would most likely never make it into a museum, but if it did and someone asked me how the above picture made me feel, I would promptly answer with the following statement.

"How does it make you feel? How do you think that cat feels?"

All of this to say, if you plan on ever attending a modern art museum, you can't say you weren't warned.

Without a Price Tag

It has arrived.

Time to drop your pool floatie and pick up you pen and paper. When school rolls around, we see a lot of advertising for school supplies. "Come get your pens, paper, rulers, backpacks, and folders!" But after being bombarded with all these advertisements, it comes to mind that we would not be fully equipped without something that we can't buy at a store. Something that doesn't have a price tag......

A good attitude. One morning when we wake and find fall on our front doors, we are faced with a challenge. The challenge of being a cheerful worker. Just like the bee or the ant goes out everyday and works hard, God wants us to possess these qualities as well. We live in a very privileged country where an education is available. And yet sometimes I find myself taking my education for granted. And how do we tend to respond? We respond with ungratefulness.


Ungratefulness. It is an ugly word. The kind of word that leaves an unpleasant taste in our mouths post utterance. Someone once told me that no one has a right to an education, but that it is a privilege. So why not be grateful and have a good attitude toward the privilege of school?



Now I don't want everyone to think that I love school to the extent that I want it year-round. I did say it was a challenge. So as school creeps around the corner, let us not lose sight of what we have been blessed with. Remember to not forget your willingness to learn and your good attitude. The school supplies without a price tag.

Proverbs 6:6 Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.

Word of the Week #2

Here is the ETST Word of the Week. Some of our words are chosen because they sound intelligent even when we misuse them, or they were the Word of the Day on Dictionary.com. I picked this word because I just like saying it. "Quotidian. Quotidian. Quooootidian. Quotiddddian." OK, I'll stop now.

Quotidian \kwoh-TID-ee-uhn\, adjective: 1. Occurring or returning daily; as, a quotidian fever. 2. Of an everyday character; ordinary; commonplace.

Example Sentence: "Erasmus thought More's career as a lawyer was a waste of a fine mind, but it was precisely the human insights More derived from his life in the quotidian world that gave him a moral depth Erasmus lacked."
-- "More man than saint", Irish Times, April 4, 1998

Quotidian is from Latin quotidianus, from quotidie, "daily," from quotus, "how many, as many, so many" + dies, "day."

What are you Chewing?

"FOOD!!!!!!!!WATER!!!!!!!!ANYTHING!!!!!!!.......ew.......not that!"

This was the desperate cry of my friend and I the time we were lost in the woods. It was tragic. So that you understand what happened, I will rewind.

It was a lovely day. The trees were singing and the birds blowing in the breeze. I started that day just like any other day.

"We are going to go for a little hike," said Mrs. Gonzales.

That is when it all started. We all piled into a Mini Van and set out on our journey. The party consisted of Mr. Gonzales, Mrs. Gonzales, Abigail, Alice, Uncle Ricardo, Aunt Tracy, Theodor, Carlotta, my friend Julianna, and myself. It was a very merry party. So we set out on our drive to Forker Lake.

When we arrived, we jumped out of the van and began our little hike. It wasn't long before Julianna and I were at the front of the group. We became sidetracked talking about many different things. Then the idea occurred to us. We could hide just a little bit off of the trail and our families would pass us.

We tip-toed into the trees just on the right of the trail. But we decided that our group would be able to see us in our present position. So we traveled deeper into the woods. Again we talked and lost track of what direction we were walking in. Then my friend suddenly gasped.

"Amelia, I think were lost."

The last word sent a shiver up my spine. lost.......LOST!?! How could this be? I had never been lost before. I had heard of children who had been lost in malls. But not the WILDERNESS!!!!!!!!!

"What should we do?"

"I don't know."

After we evaluated our "lostness", we began thinking of what our plan of action would be. Many ideas were suggested. Here are a few......

.....Climb a tree and yell (we couldn't get into the tree)

.....make a shelter (it kept falling down)

.....find a pot and boil some water(couldn't find a pot)

We finally decided to live off the land. We looked for berries (didn't find any), We looked for a shelter (only found a hole in the dirt). We were sure our families had left without us. Painfully time crept by. We were hungry, thirsty, and tired. We found ourselves crawling on the ground ravenously devouring anything we came in contact with. We ate grass, dirt, and a very freaky looking beetle. We were near our life's end.

"What on earth are you doing?"

We gathered just enough strength to look up and see our families standing around us with very quizzical and confused looks on their faces.

"Why are you laying on the ground?"

"What are you chewing?"

"We finally caught up with you speed-walkers."

We just stared.

"Let's go home," Aunt Tracy announced.

I mustered up the strength to speak, " We have been lost in the wilderness for hours."

"Stop goofing around, you sillys, you guys wandered off around 2 minutes ago."

Wasn't That Nice of You!

The polls are closed, and the results are in. Thank you everyone for putting in your two cents. I can't say that I'm thrilled about the prospect of receiving a vaccum, but hey, I can't complain. Vaccums have many uses like cleaning up spilt milk, picking up all the dry pine needles after you have finally taken the christmas tree down (that's a good tale!) and if your vaccum has a reverse switch, making it snow.

I have been trying to decide what brand I wanted, and I have decided upon the eight-pound Hoover Vac. While being lightweight, it has the sucking power of a tornado, and I am told that it is extremely hard to clog.

This whole poll reminded me of an article I read recently that one of my friends wrote. He made the point that around 75% of young adults don't take the time to vote, and therefore, we loose the impact of our "fourth branch."

These fun little polls are helping us practice voting even though no research is needed to vote in the polls on our site. Be aware of what is going on in your nation and look for ways to make a difference.

I Have How Many Hours Left?!?

School. The very thought of it is haunting every student in the whole San Joaquin County, state of California and even the whole world! Some unfortunate souls have already returned; I am one of the fortunate few who are left. There are only 63 hours left until school starts, and I am determined not to waste the last precious bit of my summer.

Even though I dislike admitting this, I will tell you that I had to pence about school for a little while today. After all, textbooks and binders don't purchase themselves. And when I finished my stroll through the Delta College bookstore, I found myself thinking very unusual thoughts. I became excited about my new (and used) books, and I wanted to have a chance to actually use them. I soon realized that I was anticipating the coming school year, and the classes I would take.

This excitement, although unusual for most students, is not abnormal for me. I believe I can safely say that almost every year, I look forward to returning to a normal routine. I do enjoy my summer, but after a while, the monotony starts getting to me. I find myself wanting to complete a difficult math problem or craving to analyze a literature passage. My mom is the main reason for these desires; she always likes the return to the scheduled school lifestyle. But even my sisters, who are die-hard summer people, eventually find themselves looking for alternative outlets for their unused energy.

I believe God created us to seek change. He understood that if we were always repeating the activities in our lives, we would become bored and unwilling to change. He also understood that we need to, dare I say it, do some good old-fashioned hard work. School combines the much-needed expansion of our minds with a substantial amount of change from the ordinary. We should embrace the challenge of change!

Proverbs 18:9 "One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys."

Wacky Web-Pic Wednesday #1

Today's the day. The day I'm priveledged to present to you wacky pictures I find on the web. Every once in a while I come across a picture that seems strange. Either something is missing, or it just appealed to me as amusing. So for your enjoyment (and mine as well), we here at ETST will post pictures for you to laugh at, cry over, or just wonder why we even posted this in the first place. Enjoy!!!!!!!

yum yum

Frankly, this just scares me. What mother out there would see this on the shelf at the local food market and say, *gasp* "Is that amazing or what? I didn't know they still made this brand! I ate monkey brains when I was a child. I just know my kids will love Monkey Brain Soup!"

Oh boy.

I sincerly apologize for the blurriness, but I think we still get the picture.

When I Started This Blog...

When I started this blog, I proudly told my family about my new endeavor to influence the world. Their responses to my news varied greatly, and this is a small list of what they said:

Mom: *immediately pointing to the screen* "You need a comma before the word 'California.' Maybe you should let me review your compositions before you post them on the internet for all the world to see."

Dad: *not showing much emotion or removing his eyes from his computer screen* "How much is this going to cost me?"

Sister #1: *Speaking rapidly with a gleam in her eye* "Can we name it after me?"

Sister #2: "That's nice... may I go back to my Barbies now?"

Grandma: "That is so wonderful. I always knew you would make a difference in this world. I am so proud of you!" *hug hug kiss kiss*

Computer-savvy Uncle: * I don't honestly know what he said since he was speaking in techno-terms, but I think he was impressed.*

Girl Cousin: "That is so cool! I love the idea! How rad is that! You can like have people read what you like write on the Internet! That is like so sweeeeet!!!"

Guy Cousin: *unenthusiastically* "That's cool."

Grandpa: *with a concerned look on his face* "What is a blog? Is there some kind of ointment you can use to remove it? Does it itch? Is it contagious? If so.....Please don't bring it to my house.

Best friend's three year old sister: " Wat's a bwouge?

Aunt: *immediately lighting up with excitement* Well you must send the link to me. *handing me a piece of paper* Here is my email address. Oh, I am so thrilled for you!!!!!!"

My family is important to me, and I value all of your opinions as well. You should not overlook what your family and friends have to say about your ambitions as they will play an important role in your life.

Proverbs 19:37 "Stop listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge."

The Welcome Letter

Dear Readers,

Welcome to our blog! This is the first post of Enlarged to Show Texture, and we sincerely hope that your first visit will not be your last. The purpose of this blog is to share funny stories, give helpful advice, and encourage people to do what's wholesome and good in the eyes of our Lord Jesus Christ, while attempting to be humorous.

The title of Enlarged to Show Texture is meant to describe the scrutiny under which we should place everything we hear or read. Firstly, we hope that you, our readers, will scrutinize our posts. Secondly, we hope you will be uplifted and delighted by reading our blog.

Also, since we live in a corrupt world, the internet contains vile materials. So we desire this blog to be a place where Biblical values are upheld, and a place for you to come and be refreshed. Please enjoy!

The Authors

Word of the Week #1

Please go and use the Word of the Week as many times as you possibly can (without sounding strange). I'm up to 437.

Pugnacious adj. given to fighting; quarrelsome. [f. pugnaci(ty) (t. L: m.s. pugnacitas combativeness) + -ous] -pugnaciously, adv. -pugnacity , pugnaciousness, n.

Example Sentence: Although Larry appears to be peace-loving at home, he tends to revert to a pugnacious attitude while at work.