2009: A hurricane and a rainbow of a whirlwind

Hello everyone,

In light of the fact that 2010 is a mere four hours or less away in my time zone, I figured I'd pause and review the year of 2009 in my life.

My friend Mary Burklin came up with the note structure and I have modified it a little. I hope that you enjoy my look back at 2009.



The 9 Best [Or Most Memorable] Events of 2009 (in no order):
1. 2009 CleanPlace Moot
2. Modest is Hottest Fashion Show
3. Graduating highschool
4. Becca's visit in late June/Early July
5. Me visiting Becca in Northern Cali. My first time up in that area of CA, it was so pretty.
6. Going caving with Becca on both visits
7. Seeing the Hoover Dam.
8. Watching the meteor shower during Moot with Wolfo, Riv, Raen, Nia, Twinkie, Telpe, Becca, and whoever else I can't remember. :oops:
9. Watching my little sister grow into a young woman and get a purity ring and attend the father-daughter ball. Time goes by way too fast.

The 9 Favorite Albums of 2009:
1. Awake by Skillet
2. Confessions by Pillar
3. Innocence and Instinct by Red
4. Momento Mori by Flyleaf
5. Welcome to The Masquerade by Thousand Foot Krutch
6. Ocean Eyes by Owl City
7. Love and War by BarlowGirl
8. It Is Well by Kutless
9. Over and Underneath by Tenth Avenue North

The 9 Best Places I Visited in 2009:
1. Redding, CA
2. Shasta Caverns
3. Colorado Springs, CO
4. Denver, CO
5. Chipotle in Colorado Springs--blame you After-Mooters for this one.
6. Colossal Caves
7. Desert Museum in Tucson, AZ
8. The Fair
9. San Francisco

The 9 Best Things About School in 2009:
1. Learning new things
2. The ability to do it online=flexibility
3. :. . .
4. :. . . .
5. :. . . . .
6. :. . . . . .
7. :. . . . . . .
8. :. . . . . . . .
9. : . . no sleep? :P

9 Awesome People I Met for the First Time in 2009 (in no order) :
1. Jordan (Rivus)
2. Daeriel
3. Bree
4. Mr & Mrs Johnson
5. Mylla and her Mom
6. Celeris
7. Sara Ronhovde
8. RainbowPixels
9. Balto

The 9 Songs that were the Most Special to Me in 2009:
1. Awake and Alive by Skillet
2. Cassie (Acoustic) by Flyleaf
3. Sing Me A Love Song by BarlowGirl
4. Arise by Flyleaf
5. Never Surrender by Skillet
6. Hero by Skillet
7. Lion by Rebecca St James
8. Miss Invisible by Marie Digby
9. Shadows by Red

My 9 Personal Favorite Photos from events in 2009 [click for Full-sized]:
1. Moot 2009 with two of my close friendds, Becca and Kendra
2. Me and Mary, a very dear friend that I grew up with in Texas.
3. Me with Becca, Dae, and Mary.:
4. Me and my artist friend (and one of my Moot 2009 roomates) Legolas [Rachel].

5. Me visiting my "sister" Becca in Nov. Pic from Shasta Caverns.

6. Graduated! Ha!
7. Pic from the fair in April.

8. Me and my sisters minus Saige for the fashion show we did with Ignition Project and Crisis Pregnancy Centers on Modesty.

9. This picture was so perfect that it needed no caption. Me and Lissi.





9 Good Books I Read in 2009:
1. Hunger Games by Susan Collins
2. The Rook by Steven James
3. The Divine Dance by Shannon Kubiak
4. The Book of Honor by Ted Gup
5. A Time to Dance by Karen something :P
6. A Time to Embrace by Karen. I'm sorry I forgot her last name.
7. The Prophet (reread through) by Frank Peretti
8.Kiss by Ted DekKer
9. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Drawing Manga, Illustrated by John Layman


9 Miscellaneous Things I Learned in 2009:
1. Trust in God. He's the only thing that will keep your life sane.
2. Never take every second, minute, hour, day, week, month, year for granted.
3. Even if you don't think anyone is watching your life, that's not true, someone is always looking up to you.
4. When someone glares at you, smile, it might make their day and change their attitude around.
5. Art is fun, and is a lot of what I do.
6. Never look for clothing hangers in the fridge. You wont find them.
7. Traveling is one of my passions.
8. My parents are awesome, even when we have differences.
9. Siblings are tough, but they'll always be there when you need them most. Not to mention that they're really protective. . .

I hope you enjoyed the above! Now, in honor of 2010, here's 10 things that are my goals in the next year.

10 Things To Do in 2010:
1. Finally get my drivers license.
2. Visit Tokyo, Japan
3. Travel to Texas again.
4. Attend Moot again this year.
5. Start my own writers group for writers in Tucson area.
6. Grow closer to my friends and God.
7. Sing more.
8. Take mom to Moot with me. :ninja: CP friends, I need your help with this. :P :6: *had an idea*
9. Draw much more.
10. Lose 50 pounds (not for looks, just healthwise).

I hope you guys--and gals--enjoyed reading my post. Have a happy and blessed New Years! And for those of my older friends. I know I don't really have to say it, but I'm going to say it anyways (you know my safety side):

If you're drinking tonight, please do not drive home. Have a designated driver.

Enjoy the New Years!

-Sarah

Thoughts on Twilight and the Craze

To start this post off, I have something to say:

I have seen this movie.

Now, before you judge me, please read the entire post.

Firstly, I did not like the movie or what I read of the books (I probably couldn't say much more on these novels unless I read them all. Of which, I don't plan on doing.). I tend to take an analogy view to Hollywood these days. There is rarely a time I come across a "good" wholesome movie by mine, or others, standards. This is, after all, a secular market. When I watch movies I tend to ask myself these questions "What is the main point that they are trying to get across?", "What are they [directors/writers] using to get that point across?", "What are the positive themes?", etc.

I started to read the book nearly a year and a half ago just to see what the hype was about, but I felt like God told me to stop and I did. I recently watched the movie. I waited nearly a year, mind you, so that I could review it honestly and not be considered part of the "trend". Don't worry, I have no intention of joining the ranks of thousands of screaming tween and teen girls over Jacob, Edward, or the whole Twilight franchise.

Twilight does have some positive messages, like family and sacrifice. But there are some things that I can't just overlook. For example: this is a dark subject. Although the movie wasn't as dark as I had expected, it still deals with a dark topic. Vampires and Werewolves.

Overall, the movie was okay. The acting was terrible, so was the dialogue. Some of the effects were nice, and the character(s) I really only halfway cared for was Edward's family and their close-knit care for each other. I did wish I would've done something else with my time by the end of it. No, I'm not trying to bash those of my friends who enjoy it. It just wasn't for me, topic or cinematic wise.

Secondly, I do wonder why so many Christians are drawn to it--once again, I am NOT bashing, just sharing--I was quite surprised actually. Doesn't God tell us to not be of the world? No, I'm not saying there's something wrong with liking a great movie or anything, because I'd already be condemned if this was the case. It's just when some people--not all of those who like Twilight, I realize this--take it to an obsessive new level. It seems like at least half of the stores in every mall I've been in over the past year are lined with Twilight merchandise and various other merchandise from vampire, zombie, and werewolves movies, games, and books. I've even seen tween girls that fantasize that this [Edward/Jacob/Twilight] is real. What is it with our culture's sudden obsession with the undead?

In the end it all comes down to this: you know your limits, and you know what God has convicted you of not doing, watching, or listening to. You are the ultimate decider of what you subject or expose yourself to. Pray about it. Consider what you do subject yourself to.

Here's a parting verse for you,

"Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. "

Proverbs 4:23

Have a blessed day and happy theater going!

-Sarah

Review: I Know Why The Angels Dance

I Know Why The Angels Dance
Written by Bryan Davis .

I have one thing to say to any of you that are wanting to pick up this novel:

Very powerful; you will cry, and you will never view life in the same way again.

Mr Davis does a wonderful job of telling a story of death but greater yet, life, from two families perspectives. This is a cleverly crafted story that crosses the line between the seen and the unseen, between death and life, between grief and hope.

It tells the tale of two families--one of faith and one with none--who both deal with unspeakable loss. Through deep darkness surrounding these trying times, the faith of a twelve year old girl reaches through the darkness. Her child-like innocence, genuine heart and bold faith in the unseen pierces this darkness, touching and changing many lives.

By the end of reading I Know Why The Angels Dance you will question how you view life. It will have you cherishing your family and all that you have. You will be grateful, and you will also experience genuine hope and faith from a child's eyes like never before.

Do you know why the angels dance?

I'm sure you noticed. . .

. . .that you are reading a new blog. Yes, I did create a new one due to the fact the other review one I was doing died and I wanted to combine concepts from my other blogs.

I now introduce to you From A Writer's Heart, my new blog that will list book reviews (Christian and secular), poems I've written, and just general things that inspire me and etc.

I hope you enjoy this blog in the coming months.

Have a blessed weekend,

-Sarah