Summer Squirt

I recently learned the phrase, "Just going through the motions." It means doing things physically but not engaging the heart, mind, and soul - or in other words, not being present. Sometimes I feel that way, as if I'm just a fish being pulled at the end of the string by the hook of Time. I'm being dragged and I can't seem to catch up.

This summer has been a complete haze for the reason that I often focus on my growth as a person. When I'm reflecting on my growth, I get displaced from my immediate surroundings and I miss out on the physical activities that are happening at the moment. That's why when I recount the past, I can only trace emotional or spiritual memories, or more so the circumstances in which affected these aspects. By focusing on what I felt during the time or how I connected with people, I rarely record the facts of time or physical events. I know people who can recount events like so-and-so went here, and had this kind of a fruity drink, and lost his pajamas in the sand at the beach next to the guy who looked salmon-red under a rainbow umbrella, but I'm wired differently.

This summer had no beginning. It felt like a continuation of MICA except I migrated to New York (and Florida) for a jelly string of weeks. Things happened, people came and went, I ate food, and I woke up in the morning knowing it'd be lost forever in time. Actually, this past month, I struggled the most with the truth of vanity. I struggled with the idea that everything I do can be pointless. But I also picked up a lesson I never learned even though I often heard people say it: Fear the Lord. It is better to fear God than go about my own ways and end up not doing anything really permanently productive in life. Only God's plan bears fruit and I can trust that my life will not be lived in vain if I fear God by obeying him and respecting His commands.

Being stuck in this struggle made me turn to the only thing that could pull me back out of the rut. I can now say that reading the entire Bible is not an impossible task for me, neither is it something I would dread doing (thanks to Ellice, too). I read Ecclesiastes for the issue about vanity. And Song of Solomon followed, so I read that - it is by far the most romantic piece I've read (I love poetry, especially when it's written to me xp). I'm half through Revelations, and I can actually wrap my head around it. I have such a visual memory it's easy to imagine what is being described in the passage. Hopefully, I can work my way through all of the books, in no particular order, just skipping around.

Now that sophomore year is upon me, I don't know what will happen, but I certainly know what I want out of it. I am a little more prepared this time around as well. Certainly I won't satisfy all my cravings for Chinese food, but at least I'll have some noodles in stock.

Go Kingston and Mike Leung for coming to Baltimore! Without you guys, I would be less excited, haha. Dorming this year should also be better because I'm living in the Gateway! and everything should be fairly new. I'm also going to be taking classes in my major for the first time. I'll be taking Graphic Design I, Typography I, Video I, Digital Photography, Modernism and After, and Creativity and Genius - 6 classes with the potential of dropping Digital Photography if I can't manage (hopefully I can). There's a lot of room for error, so keep me in your prayers. In fact, a lot of things are up in the air, so I hope I address them well. I'll miss New York so much, and I'll miss all my fellow OCMers. Have a great year guys! <3

All About a Horse

By: Sarah Cheung

8 years old

written August 9, 2010

Permit* granted by Stephanie Har, her cousin

*Every time Sarah sees "Permit," she thinks about "Peppermint."

The hair part of a horse is called a mane.

The belly part of a horse is called a flank.

The ankle part of a horse is called a pastern.

The foot part of a horse is called a hoof.

Under the hoof is called a soul.

The knee of a horse is called a hock.

A Thoughbred is pure and strong. Some horse babies are different in color than their mother.

Example: brown mom with white baby.

Baby horses are called a calf.

A calf can run right after they are born.

And that's all about horses!!!

bla

bla

bla

babies!

Plants

By Benjamin

5 years old

written August 9, 2010

Permit granted by Stephanie Har, his cousin

The first thing you need is seeds. Then you put the water in the soil. After you put some soil, you will have to wait for a week or more. You will need sunlight.

Set of Rules for Life

by Janice Cheung

10 Years Old

written August 9, 2010

Permit granted by Stephanie Har, her cousin

The first thing you need to know is that rules are very important. They lead you to a very joyful life. These set of rules are useful for families.

One rule is that you should never play with matches. They can start a fire that spreads across fields or buildings. Fire will burn your skin and really harm you.

Another rule is that you should never play on staircases. You can roll down the stairs without knowing. You will get a series of injury that can lead you to hospitals.

Do not play with swords or knives. They might cut your skin so roughly. You will have to suffer with a scar.

You should never be lazy, too, about work because you will need the knowledge for life. When you have a job, you need to know school work. That is why we go to school. If you do not succeed you will not earn money for food, shelter, and furniture.

If you are young like from 1-12, you should never try to cook because of hot steamy smoke and knives to cut meat and vegetables.

You should always remember the set of rules for life.

Alexis

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I Luvvy duvvy youu

hehe

Satan

So many people know about god. And so many people blame him for all the suffering on earth, for not intervening more. But so little people talk about Satan. Because god is god, the one who knows and "controls" all things, he must be responsible for all the tragedies and disasters that happen on earth, because he is god. But so little people talk about Satan. How he is in fact the ruler of Earth. How he tempts us all into despair for the good of nothing. And yet we blame God because He is god, and we can't see that if we really knew God, we'd know that God is first and foremost the embodiment of love. He gave Adam and Eve free will so that they would worship Him freely, and not like robots under a command. God gave us free will so we could do the same. But because we were deceived by Satan to allow sin into the world, we condemned ourselves to death, and God had to pay the price by sending Jesus, a pure and blameless lamb, to sacrifice his life for our chance of redemption. His love is at the center of all this. And the earth was condemned to face an end, to deteriorate, and yet we blame God for causing tsunamis and earthquakes, when sin, which was brought to earth by Satan, is the cause for man's death as well as the destruction of physical earth. Still, we don't know that God's love for the human race is so deep that He is actually holding Earth together and is patient to wait for our acceptance of Him, what He actually made into an opportunity for eternal life. This is our hope. He gave us hope when Satan destroyed our relationship with Him from the very beginning. Satan, the one who we never talk about enough to know that He is the source of our pain, our suffering, the things in life that are not pleasurable, the things in life we often blame God for letting us put up with. Satan.