The Dragon Part 2

The Dragon worked tirelessly day in and day out to restore the stone. He carefully polished and buffed out many of the deep and painful scars. But the gem still have not been returned to it's glory. The knight also worked day in and day out to prepare himself to face the terrible dragon in battle over the heart he so desired.

The knight however had been wounded in a previous battle that had left permanent damage in his armor. A small but none the less noticeable puncture hole in the chest plate of his armor could be clearly seen by the dragon. The puncture had not been fixed in the knight's armor after the deadly encounter.

The knight went every day to sit by the mouth of the dragons cave in order to know and understand the jewel. He was not allowed to venture too close however, because the dragon had become very cautious.

The knight sat by the mouth of the cave and waited and waited for what he thought seemed like an eternity always watching and wanting to catch a glimpse of sparkle thrown off by the gleaming gem. He came to know the way the jewel would shine in different lights and moods. He came to understand just how to make it shine by holding it just the right way in the sunshine.
But the knight himself never came close to holding the jewel. He was forced to learn by watching the dragon.

Every day when the knight would come to sit by the cave entrance, he would gradually move farther into the cave. Soon over the course of a few weeks he had moved in past the door, and by a few months he was no longer sitting in the light of the doorway. The dragon slowly grew accustomed to the presence of the knight although he still watched him very carefully.

One night the dragon who was very tired after a long day polishing fell fast asleep with the gem next to him. The knight leaned in to look closely at the beautiful stone, and stared for a long time into the center of the rock. He believed the precious stone to be of great worth and value and gently whispered to the beautiful jewel beautiful things.

The dragon awoke, but did not make a sound. The dragon had promised himself to never let another thing happen to his precious jewel. And he vowed that no man would look at the stone for a long amount of time no matter how clear the stone had become or how sincere the knight was.

The knight having stared into the glassy eyes of the gem for many hours was terrified when the dragon rose from his place by the stone and chased him out of the cave. The dragon clutched the precious stone to his heart and locked it away in a tower for three years to guard it from all knights...

The knight was heartbroken that he had to be removed for such a long time. He longed to look and watch the gem, but the sparkle was hidden from all the world while tucked away in the tower. The knight was forced to remain on the ground and wait until the dragon granted permission for him to enter the tower...

Sincerly Yours, Me

hi self,
how r u? I wanted something in the inbox, so i sent u a email. r u bored? im bored.
~me

The day I wrote that email I was bored. Have you ever had the feeling like you just wish somebody would send you an email? Well this fun little "exercise" (as I thought it was at first) became an obsession. Yes, that's right.

Howdy I,
Yeah, im kinda bored. Thanx 4 the email. You really enjoyed reading it.
Sincerly mine, You

Hola you!

Me hasn't talked to you in like FOREVER!!!! How has my life been going? You heard that mine is having a Birthday party for I, right? Me don't know what you is going to bring for a present to myself. You were thinking about a watch, but me knows that I wouldn't like that so much. Besides, I know myself pretty well. Well, yourself has to get going. You hope to hear from me soon.

Twiddling your thumbs,

Me

Now I know what you are thinking. She has lost her brain. Yes, that's right, admit it. Don't worry, Your feelings won't get hurt. For now, I will keep emailing myself. Me will let you know how things are going.

Sincerly Yours,

Me

Shortcuts You Shouldn't Take When Doing Your Chores

Chores, however long and arduous they may seem, are really not that bad if you just buckle down and complete them. But when faced by a mountain of tasks, you may be tempted to take the short way out. In the times when you must do your duties, please don't take any of these shortcuts. We speak from experience...

Chore Tip #1: When cleaning up after your dog, don't take the easy way out. Your mother will not appreciate the placement of "the bag" in her kitchen garbage, and even though it is 30 fewer steps than taking it outside, please walk it out to the trash receptacle.

Chore Tip #2: Don't take all the wet smelly towels and "dry" them under your bed. Let me tell you, they don't tend to dry for months. Although, if you leave them there long enough, they seem to get fuzzier... interesting...

Chore Tip #3: When organizing a closet with games in it that happen to have small pieces, don't combine all the games into one box for easier storage. You'll be sorry when you want to play Chinese Checkers next time.

Chore Tip #4: Ants really like half finished lolly pops. Please don't "save them for later" by your bed. You probably don't want to have a whole bunch of little friends for a sleep over.

Chore Tip #5: The holes in the fronts of guitars are not garbage cans!

Chore Tip #6: Never throw anything away that belongs to your sister. Nuf said.

Chore Tip #7: When cleaning the mirrors and glass in the bathroom, don't mix up the Windex with the hairspray.

Chore Tip #8: Check to make sure the rag you're using is really supposed to be used as a rag.

Chore Tip #9: If you're cleaning out the fridge and you don't remember buying anything that color, throw it out.

Hope these tips are helpful the next time you clean! :)

The Dragon Part 1

Here is the first part of a story I wrote. The rest is either coming or still to be written. Hope you enjoy!

I always envisioned my heart as something like a huge heart-shaped diamond that was so clear and reflective that you could see yourself in it. So great in it's worth that it was locked away in a beautiful chest. in the jewel-covered box, the gem-heart is wrapped in a beautiful velvet sash.

The chest is kept under guard by a ferocious dragon with a monstrous tail and fiery breath.The dragon has swallowed the one and only key to the beautiful box so the only way to open the chest is to slay the monster. At least that's what I thought.

A knight came along, not brave or strong, but a seeker of hearts. (notice the plural) He came to the dragon and first tried to convince the dragon to give up the key. The terrible monster refused pointblank. Next the boy came up with a devious plan. While the dragon was sleeping one night, he would sneak into the cave and, climb into the dragon's mouth and pull out the key to the gemstone box.

The next night, while the dragon was sleeping, the boy, somehow, against all odds, was able to retrieve the scrolled key. He rejoiced in his luck and immediately went to see the heart that he believed he now possessed. But because he was only a boy, and not a man, he didn't see the worth of the stone, and therefore was very reckless with it.

In the meantime, the dragon having noticed the gem's disappearance, searched high and low for it. when at last he found it, half covered in mud, it had obtained multiple scratches and scars.The monster returned to his lair, rejoicing for finding the stone, but sorrowing for seeing it's condition. He worked night and day in his cave, polishing, polishing, polishing the jewel, working slowly and meticulously to return it to it's former glory.

One day, while he was polishing, another knight came along. He saw the stone being worked upon and wished to examine it closer. The dragon roared to the man that he must wait until the stone was properly restored before he could try to win it. So the man went away to ready himself and to find the strongest breastplate, helmet, shield and sword...

Time for a Rest

Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to never have any time at all to sit down and rest? I'm sure many of you have experienced this I'm-going-crazy-and-may-be-collapse-unless-I-sit-down-soon feeling. Well, the past few weeks (basically since the school semester started) I have been going Mach 10 with my hair on fire.

Between going to school, working full time, serving in children's ministry, finishing homework and hanging with the kids at the 180 teen center every Friday night I pretty much packed my schedule to the max. I was gone 4-5 nights a week and shut up in my room the other few.

But as if I needed anything else to deal with, I started having asthma attacks. After several times needing a ride home from school in Stockton and classes at Millswood (night time classes are held here off campus) I made an appointment to see my doctor.

He put me on two inhalers and told me to be careful about not overexerting myself. I was kind of relieved to hear that it wasn't anything really serious, but something that would just be a nuisance.

One night, though, it became more serious than just a mild case of asthma. I ended up in the ER at 10 o' clock at night with an IV hanging from my arm. After that, my family came to a conclusion: I was doing too much. And I have (slowly and most times unwillingly) come to agree with them.

We need to find a balance between being busy/happy and rested and busy/crazy and tired. It has taken me a while to understand that I can't cram everything into my life that I think I should be able to. I didn't have time to read and study my Bible nearly as much as I wanted because I couldn't find time to make time! That should say something!

My life is becoming more balanced thanks to my parents carefully and patiently showing me how to cut things out and say no. And my asthma is much better thanks to having more rest time and being careful out in the pollen-filled air. Balance is important to the effectiveness of our service. We can be more effective if we limit ourselves to what we know we can handle.

Thanks mommy and daddy g!

Be Nice...

I wrote this a while ago, but I never posted it here. Sorry about the delay.

What should a real gentleman look like? How should he treat women? Other men? His mother?

1. Respect. He should always treat everyone with high respect. That could look like: opening doors for people, standing when a lady enters a room, treating women as things to be treasured, giving up his seat for the elderly, and speaking kindly to everyone.

2. Love. This kinda works with respect. If the guy loves you, he will respect you in every aspect: physical boundaries, your feelings, your dreams and protection from himself.

3. Protection. Also, this again ties back into the previous one Love. If he really loves you, he will protect you from the evil around us, and may even have to protect you from his own thoughts and desires.

4. Filter. This is something that a good friend recently enlightened me about. Guys have filters in their heads. Some filters work really well and will pull out almost everything that should not be done or said whereas other filters will pull out very little. A true gentleman will have a good filter that will pull out things that are not good to say or do. He will be careful and considerate around others because he knows how powerful his words and actions can be.

Ladies, wait for that guy. He's out there, waiting and watching for the woman of his dreams to show up. Don't stand for anything less.

:)

SOMEBODY?!?!?! PLEASE leave a comment...........
Just one. It doesn't need to be fancy. I would be happy if there was at least a smiley face. :) Please *gets on knees* I'm begging ;-)