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Some Words

I had some serious difficulty coming up with something to post today. One could even say that I was struggling to come up with the words to write. And that’s when inspiration struck; this post is going to just be a list of words that I like with their corresponding definitions and a fun sentence. These are words I have come across on Pinterest, while reading, through an app I use called ‘Word of the Day’ (it’s pretty awesome, you learn a new word everyday and I highly recommend it), in books, or even in everyday conversation or in school. Hopefully by looking at this list, you’ll find a new word that you can use to make yourself seem more intelligent and impressive to your friends and family. So without further ado, here are some words to help you strengthen your vocabulary.

Absquatulate: Run away; usually taking something or somebody along. My friend absquatulated with my car keys.

Acerbic: A sharp and forthright comment or way of speaking. Her tone with me was acerbic.

Apocryphal: A false story or statement that has been wildly circulated as being true. The myth that it takes 7 years to digest gum is an Apocryphal story.

Armamentarium: A collection of resources available for a certain purpose. He had an armamentarium of things related to astronomy.

Aubade: A love song sung at dawn. He played his guitar and sang an aubade as he watched the sun rise.

Axiomatic: Self-evident or unquestionable. It is axiomatic that I love history.

Beatific: Blissfully happy. I felt beatific because I did not fail any of my classes.

Beleaguer: Annoy persistently. When we were younger, my sister used to beleaguer me.

Bezoar: A small and hard mass that can form in the stomach of a goat or sheep. A bezoar is an antidote that Harry used to save Ron’s life in their 6th year.

Bibliophile: A lover of books. I am a bibliophile.

Biddable: Ready to accept and follow instructions. Most stormtroopers are biddable.

Bombinate: Buzz, hum. Bumblebees bombinate.

Boorish: Bad-mannered. His boorish behavior made him hard to get along with.

Bungalow: A small and cozy home. Bungalows were originally developed in South Asia.

Cantankerous: Bad-tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative. Working with someone who is cantankerous is awful.

Concatenation: A series of interconnected things or events. The Harry Potter series is a concatenation of events.

Conniption: A fit of extreme anger or excitement. Cain was jealous and  in such a state of conniption that he killed his brother Abel.

Consternation: Feelings of anxiety or dismay, typically at something unexpected. When I am surprised, I often feel consternated.

Dandle: To move a baby up and down in a playful or affectionate way. The mother dandled her baby on her lap.

Dastard: A dishonorable or despicable person. Brutus acted dastardly when he stabbed Caesar.

Defenestration: The act of throwing someone out of a window. Instead of using the killing curse, Voldemort could have simply defenestrated Harry and saved himself a lot of effort.

Donnybrook: A scene of uproar or disorder. People at the meeting began to fight and the place became a donnybrook.

Effervescence: Bubbles in a liquid. Sparkling water is an effervescent drink.

Entelechy: The realization of potential. Aristotle defines the soul as the entelechy of the body.

Extirpate: Root out and destroy completely. We extirpated the weeds in the garden.

Exultant: Triumphantly happy. The disciples felt exultant when they realized Jesus rose from the dead.

Festoon: To decorate a place. The house was festooned with Christmas décor.

Fiasco: A complete failure. My presentation was a total fiasco.

Flibbertigibbet: A flighty or excessively talkative person. I was overwhelmed because the person I was talking to was such a flibbertigibbet.

Floccinaucinihilipilification: The act of deciding that something is useless. Through the process of floccinaucinihilipilification, I realized most of my trivia knowledge was useless.

Futz: To waste time or idle. I futzed around instead of finishing my homework.

Galumph: To move in a clumsy or noisy manner. He galumphed down the aisle.

Gauche: Socially graceless. She was ill-mannered and gauche.

Hardscrabble: Involving hard work and struggle. College can be quite the hardscrabble.

Holus-bolus: All at once. I had a presentation and two papers due holus-bolus.

Hullabaloo: A commotion or fuss. There was such a hullabaloo at the pool last night.

Humdinger: A person or thing that is remarkable or outstanding. All of my friends are humdingers.

Invective: Insulting, abusive, or highly critical language. Her cruel words were invective.

Kerfuffle: A commotion or fuss. I heard a kerfuffle in the kitchen.

Kyoodle: To make loud and useless noises. My friend has a tendency to kyoodle.

Lethologica: The inability to remember a word or name. I always have to apologize for my lethologica when I ask someone their name for the 12th time.

Limerence: The state of being infatuated with another person. He had been in a state of limerence for the past 3 months.

Monomania: Exaggerated or obsessive enthusiasm for one thing. Sheldon experiences monomania in regards to his passion for trains.

Nefarious: Wicked or villainous. Thanos’ plot to obtain all of the infinity stones is nefarious.

Onomatopoeia: A word that sound like its meaning. ‘Cuckoo’ is an example of an onomatopoeia.

Orphic: Mysterious and entrancing. The chamber had an orphic vibe.

Parsimonious: Stingy or frugal with their money or resources. Some people are very parsimonious.

Petrichor: The smell of the earth after rain. I love that petrichor scent.

Peregrination: A long journey. Frodo’s peregrination to Mordor took several years.

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis: Black lung disease. Coal miners can contract Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.

Poltroon: A coward. Peter Pettigrew was a poltroon.

Quixotic: Extravagantly chivalrous or romantic. A hopeless romantic will swoon over a quixotic act.

Ratatouille: A spicy French stew. Ratatouille can be made by Pixar rats.

Reticent: Not revealing one’s thoughts or feelings readily. People rightly believe that I tend to be reticent.

Ripsnorter: Something extraordinary. That discovery was a ripsnorter.

Serendipity: The occurrence of happy events by chance. There is so much serendipity to be seen in nature.

Scripturient: Having a passion to write. I write blog post because of my scripturient nature.

Somnambulist: A person who sleepwalks. She had to keep the door to her bedroom locked because she was a somnambulist.

Sonder: The realization that every passerby has a life as vivid and complex as one’s own. When I realized that the other 7 billion people on the earth were as complex and real as me, I experienced sonder.

Sonorous: A deep and full sound. The church bells had a sonorous ring.

Supercilious: Behaving as though one thinks they are superior to others. Many of the Pharisees that Jesus interacted with were supercilious.

Swivet: A fluster or panic. The stress of writing the paper I had due sent me into a swivet.

Tetchy: Bad-tempered and irritable. It is common for people to be tetchy in the morning before they have their coffee.

Tintinnabulation: A tinkling sound. The tintinnabulation her bracelets made when they touched was barely audible.

Turophile: One who loves cheese. I am a Turophile.

Twaddle: Foolish or nonsense speech or writing. Some people may think my blog posts are a bunch of twaddle but they are wrong.

Uniped: A person or animal with only one foot or leg. The flamingo was a uniped because it lost one of its legs while fighting another flamingo.

Woolgather: To engage in idle daydreaming or speculation. Sometimes I woolgather when I should be paying attention in class.

If you’re intrigued by this post and looking forward to what I’ll write about in the future, you can expect a new post every Saturday. Also, if you feel inclined, feel free to leave a comment below about what you think. Thanks for all your support and I hope you’ll come back next week. Stay Amazing!

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Spring Break in Katy

Recently, thirty-two of us from Cru drove to Katy, Texas to spend a week helping to restore homes that had been damaged by Hurricane Harvey. This was an incredible experience and a great way to spend my Spring Break. I could talk about this trip for hours, but I am going to do my best to consolidate it into something simple and readable here.

We left Fort Collins around 7:00 pm on Friday, March 9th and returned around 8:00 am on Sunday, March 18th.  We were split into three vans. The vans were crowded and the drive was long but we were excited. When we arrived in Katy on Saturday afternoon, quite a few of us were surprised by what we saw, or more accurately, what we didn’t see. At first glance, the city seemed fine. There were no collapsed buildings, no houses in ruins. In fact from the outside the houses looked great and the architecture was impressive. As we pulled into the parking lot of the church that would be hosting us for the week, some of us began to doubt the point of us coming. Did these people actually need our help?

It didn’t take long to realize the answer to this question was yes. The two volunteers from the church we worked with throughout the week told us what a challenge the past six months had been. The people were exhausted, and despair weighed over the city. But these two men believed God could use us to change Katy’s morale. And they were right. The next morning when we all attended church, we were overwhelmed by the amount of people walking over to thank us for coming to help. Some even had tears in their eyes. It’s amazing how God used us to give others hope again.

Each day that we worked we were split into different groups and had different work. Sunday afternoon consisted of yard work for my group while others did dry-walling. Monday was my favorite work day. The all-female group I was a part of cleared debris from people’s homes. What we grabbed varied from wood, to doors, to tiles, to ovens, to even a toilet. We filled three industrial sized dumpsters in one day. We filled three industrial sized dumpsters with what were now the broken pieces of people’s lives. At one point we came across a yearbook so badly damaged that it couldn’t be opened. Not everything that was lost could be replaced. On the outside the houses seemed fine, but on the inside, it was broken. People are like that too.

On Tuesday I spent the day with a group of people painting. We managed to paint  nearly the entire inside of the house before we ran out of primer. And then that night all the guys cooked and served dinner and wrote notes for all of us girls. After all the hard work they put into helping the residents of Katy that day, they still found the energy to put forth such a thoughtful gesture. I am so thankful for all of them and for how clearly their love for God shows.

Now Wednesday was Beach Day. We spent the day on a beach in Galveston. We were divided into teams and competed in soccer, sandcastle making, and a race. My team came in 3rd… of three. Oh well, we still had a fun time! Beach day helped us all feel refreshed for our last two days of work.

Thursday morning, I helped set up for a community lunch for one of the neighborhoods that had been affected by the hurricane. During the event I was in charge of an inflatable obstacle course for the kids, which was a blast! One light that God brought from this tragedy was that it brought people together; people within the neighborhood, or even people from Katy, Texas with some college kids from Colorado State University.

Friday, our final workday, was bittersweet. The group I was in scrubbed tiles and did yard work for a woman involved with the church. In the places where her walls and floors were ripped up, she and her family wrote different Bible verses. Her faith was incredible. And as quickly as the work day began, it ended. That night we celebrated the week by going out to dinner. When we returned, we went outside and did some swing dancing, which was a lot of fun, just like our downtime during the week always was. Throughout the week, we would spend time doing worship, processing the day, and breaking out into small groups. But the rest of the night, we would have free time which was spent playing card games, playing kickball, and watching movies – the kind of things that create and grow friendships.

Going on service trips like these build bonds that last forever. New friendships were made and current ones were strengthened, as was my relationship with God. At the start of this trip I was anxious because I didn’t know exactly what to expect and because I was worried I’d only cause more damage to the homes because of my lack of experience with manual labor. But I went in with open hands. And God filled them.

If you’re intrigued by this post and looking forward to what I’ll write about in the future, you can expect a new post every Saturday. Also, if you feel inclined, feel free to leave a comment below about what you think. Thanks for all your support and I hope you’ll come back next week. Stay Amazing!

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My Ranking of the Harry Potter Books

It seems I went through all of February without a single post. Oops. Well, I am back now and this week’s post is about the Harry Potter books, a series near and dear to my heart. I will be ranking the books in order of my least favorite to my absolute favorite. Please note that I am in no way a professional critic of literature and that these are just my own personal opinions from having read the entire series at least ten times by now. So without further ado, here is my list. Also warning there are spoilers!

In 7th Place: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Let me begin by saying that I really love this book. However it is being compared to the best of the best so it just can’t win. That being said, there are reasons it is my least favorite, with the main reason being how little the school reacts when the chamber is initially opened. Animals, ghosts, and students alike are all getting petrified by a monster and the only security measure taken is a rule put in place to not wander the corridors alone. No school closures, no search parties to find the monster, nothing. Considering the fact that Myrtle died fifty years ago (and no one thought to go back and ask her about it until Harry and Ron put two and two together) and that the reason nobody died is sheer luck, it is ludicrous to think that any school, even one like Hogwarts, wouldn’t shut down way before Ginny ever went into the chamber (which by the way, I still can’t figure out how the professors figured out she was taken so quickly). Also, I find it odd that there’s no mention of a single parent withdrawing their child from the school when all of this was happening.

In 6th Place: Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone

It’s the book that started it all. However the intensified waves of nostalgia that this book emits is not enough to give it a higher ranking. It’s the shortest book which means it didn’t dive in as deep as the others, and the themes couldn’t be as intense because the trio was still very young and it’s clear that this one is aimed more at children (not necessarily a bad thing, but as I am now an adult…). Like any good book that’s first in the series, there’s a lot of character introduction and background information but it’s mainly surface-level. Also, it really irks me that the name of the book was changed to Sorcerer’s Stone in the U.S. because of concern that we wouldn’t understand what J.K. Rowling met by ‘philosopher.’ This point is completely unrelated to the actual plot, but I wanted to mention is anyway because I think it’s annoying.

In 5th Place: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

What I absolutely love about this book is Harry’s growth. He starts out fainting during dementor attacks, to producing a corporeal Patronus at the lake. He also initially wants to kill Sirius when he believes he was the one to betray his parents, but ultimately shows mercy towards Peter Pettigrew after realizing it was really him that did it. But this book is not ranked closer to the top for two reasons; with the first being that nobody realized Sirius was innocent. Yes, I realize Peter faked his death but this still seems like something Dumbledore should have been able to piece together. At the very least, Dumbledore should have pulled some strings and gotten Sirius a hearing before he was sentenced to Azkaban (but that is a rant for a different post). The other problem is the Time Turners. The Ministry of Magic being alright with letting some students use them to attend multiple classes seems extremely out of character for them.

In 4th Place: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

The fourth book is in fourth place. I loved Cedric and how his death in this book shapes the tone of the fifth book and beyond. The tasks for the Triwizard Tournament are well-thought out, especially the maze.  My only issue with this book was that there didn’t seem to be any real reason Harry couldn’t back out of the tournament. I mean, he didn’t actually enter himself so he didn’t willingly engage in the contract, magically binding or otherwise. And even if he was, because it’s so dangerous, they could have just had him purposely lose every competition to allow the others who actually entered to compete, without Hogwarts having the advantage of having two competitors.

In 3rd Place: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Wow, what an amazing end to the series this was! It wrapped up all loose ends perfectly. Voldemort died as a human, Harry retires the Elder Wand, and of course there is Molly Weasley’s iconic line “Not my daughter, you bitch!” This was a fantastic book. My only issue is how ridiculous Harry’s names for his children are. I mean, Albus Serverus, really? If you’re going to name your children after people, name them after better ones, like Neville.

In 2nd Place: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

This is the book where we get to learn more about Voldemort, or I guess, Tom Riddle’s, background. I loved learning about Merope and her story and then reading about Riddle gradually becoming Lord Voldemort. We also finally learn about the Horcruxes after Harry retrieves a memory from Slughorn while under the influence of liquid luck – which is highly entertaining. It’s also the first time Harry is actually suspicious of the correct person (Malfoy trying to assassinate Dumbledore) which is an interesting change. And of course, Ron and Hermione’s relationship finally gets going. My only issue is that Harry, as unobservant as he is, did not recognize Snape’s handwriting in his potion’s book.

In 1st Place: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

This may come as a surprise. I know a lot of people don’t consider this to be their favorite, but I love this book so much. Many people get annoyed with ‘angsty Harry’ but I love it. I love it because it’s real. After everything he went through in the graveyard, he begins to break. He experiences loss, anger, and PTSD. J.K. Rowling makes him so wonderfully human. He’s no longer ‘the boy who lived.’ In many ways, he’s just ‘a boy.’ And of course Umbridge is an incredibly well-written villain. I have never enjoyed despising a character more. We’ve all had to face our own ‘Umbridge’ whether it was in the form of a bad teacher, coach, etc. Most of us haven’t faced the evil of a ‘Voldemort’, but we all have had to face an ‘Umbridge,’ which is why she is the best villain I have ever read or watched. She demonstrates that authority isn’t always right, and that sometimes people in power and even the media can lie to you. Many people may believe them at first, but eventually truth will triumph. And most importantly, this book proves that a group of ordinary students, can actually make a difference.

If you’re intrigued by this post and looking forward to what I’ll write about in the future, you can expect a new post every Saturday. Also, if you feel inclined, feel free to leave a comment below about what you think. Thanks for all your support and I hope you’ll come back next week. Stay Amazing!

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Check the Elevator

Last week I went with Cru, the campus ministry I am in, to a conference in Denver. It was a great time to connect with God and with friends. While the sessions we attended were incredible and convicting, the story I’m going to tell about one of the things God revealed to me has nothing to do with any of the sessions. Instead, this story is about a game some of us played during the second night of the conference.

The game is called Sardines. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the game, Sardines is basically like reverse hide-and-seek; two people hide together while everyone else searches for them. When somebody finds them, they proceed to hide with them and this continues until everyone manages to find them. It’s a fun game, especially in the hotel we were staying at because it’s third and fourth floor are filled with dozens of possible hiding spots (A side note: neither of these floors had rooms where guest actually sleep, they are used for conventions and conferences like ours so we where not bothering any guests!).

Now before the start of the game, one girl wanted to emphasize the rule no hiding in the stairwells, because last year people hid in the stairwells and it became a hassle for those who were still searching. In the end, everyone agreed, no stairwells, and the two guys left to hide. Knowing these two guys and the fact that we had just emphasized to rule about no stairwells, I had a feeling they were going to hide in the elevators, just to show that they’re ‘rebellious and edgy.’ I voiced this thought to a few of my friends who were playing but no one else agreed to check there. Not wanting to be isolated from the group, I chose to bypass the elevators and instead search the two floors with my friends. Sure enough, we did not find them. We texted the guys, asking for a hint. Their response was “We are somewhere between the third and fourth floors.”

Again I thought, they must be in the elevator! But again, everyone doubted me. So just as before, I went with a few friends and searched all over the floors again, in many of the same places we had already checked. By this point others who were playing were growing frustrated and were convinced the two hiders were cheating. We all stood by the elevators, with some people deliberating over whether or not to end the game. That’s when we heard one of the hider’s shout someone’s name. And the voice came from the elevator! And still, no one believed they could possibly be hiding in an elevator so everyone took off. Except me.

I stood and waited. The elevator opened. Sure enough the two guys and someone who found them earlier were sitting inside. I hopped in. Within two minutes everyone else finally found them. There was a debate as to whether or not the guys followed the rules (which they did, no one said no hiding in an elevator and they made sure it only went to the third and fourth floor!) and another round of the game ensued shortly after. However elevators were banned, mostly because they move up and down so quickly that being in one for an extended period of time can make you feel pretty sick.

So you might be wondering, what’s the point of this story? Trust your instincts? Get rid of all loopholes when establishing the rules of a game? Nope. During this game I was so worried about being separated from the rest of the group that I didn’t go and search where I was supposed to. I checked the same places over and over, expecting different results. But if I had found the guys right away, I probably would have gotten motion sickness (I’m telling you those elevators are something else!). Sometimes God calls us to go somewhere where we may not be comfortable or do something that others may not support. But it’s the path we have to follow. It may seem daunting initially, more so than leaving your friends during a game of Sardines at a Christian conference, but it will produce results. Searching through the same areas of your life over and over again hoping for new and better results is illogical and unproductive. Even if no one had been in that elevator, I would have at least found one more place the two guys were not hiding.

The next time you think you should check the elevator, check the elevator. The next time you think God is telling you to do something, do something. Because with both scenarios, you’re bound to find something.

If you’re intrigued by this post and looking forward to what I’ll write about in the future, you can expect a new post every Saturday. Also, if you feel inclined, feel free to leave a comment below about what you think. Thanks for all your support and I hope you’ll come back next week. Stay Amazing!

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Three Feet at a Time

I apologize for the lack of posts this past month. Between my schoolwork and the fact that I was experiencing what I like to call a ‘one-fifth life crisis,’ I just did not have the energy to write. But I’m back now! And today I am going to discuss my one-fifth life crisis. It’s like a mid-life crisis, except that I’m only twenty, and if I live to be one-hundred then I have lived one-fifth of my life so far, as opposed to one-half.

As I have said in previous posts, in many ways, I was not the typical kid. Most middle-schoolers have no ideas what they want to be when they grow up, or they do but then proceed to change their minds a dozen times by the end of high school. From there, many still may be undecided about what they want to do by the time they graduate high school or even during their first year or two in college. I however, decided on my future career in 7th grade. After being a prosecutor in a mock trial during history class, I wanted to become a lawyer. And this idea stuck with me, all through middle school, all through high school, and all through my first two years or college.

One day I would become a federal prosecutor. I would get to ‘put the bad guys in jail,’ I would say proudly when I was thirteen. Family, friends, and many people from my high school always told me I would make a great lawyer someday. And this plan seemed perfect. Or at least it did until about a month ago. I began to question my desire for becoming a lawyer. Did I want to do it because I still had the desire? Or did I want to do it because it’s been my plan for several years. Well, I have come to a conclusion; I have no idea.

I am a fierce planner. I like to know what’s going on at all times and constantly be prepared for the future. It’s not uncommon for me to plan out all of my outfits for the week and even create some backup options because of the unpredictability that is Colorado weather. Now, I realize I take planning to the extreme, but I also realize that I am not the only one who creates big plains for their future, then finds that God is calling them to change it up, and then fears relinquishing the control they believe they have of their future.

I’ve noticed that God doesn’t typically reveal His entire plan for somebody all at once. One of my friends says it’s like walking in the woods at night and your flashlight can only light three feet of your path at a time. We all want more than those three feet, heck we’d take three miles if God would give it to us. But we only need to see three feet so that is what God shows us.

Sometimes it’s better for us to focus on what’s right in front of us as opposed to everything at once. Because keeping our minds fixed solely on the future can make it far more difficult for us to pay attention to what God has provided for us right now. I am still struggling to give up control and let God lead me, but I know He will do a much better job at guiding me, than I would.

God has recently put teaching on my heart. Although I have known I want to be a teacher, I always considered it something I would do after being a lawyer and raising a family. But it’s possible that God wants this in my future sooner than I thought. And so, I am adding a history education major and it’s going to take me an extra year to graduate. Maybe I’ll still go to law school and one day ‘put the bad guys in jail,’ or maybe I’ll teach a bunch of middle-schoolers all about my favorite subject right after I graduate college. At this point, the only one that knows the answer to what I will be doing after I graduate is God. For now, I am just going to stay focused on the three feet in front of me and be excited for whatever it is that God has planned for me.

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” -Jeremiah 29:11

If you’re intrigued by this post and looking forward to what I’ll write about in the future, you can expect a new post every Saturday. Also, if you feel inclined, feel free to leave a comment below about what you think. Thanks for all your support and I hope you’ll come back next week. Stay Amazing!

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My Oath

Today’s post is going to be different. I decided to write up a short story. Maybe I’ll continue writing stuff like this in the future along with my other types of posts. I hope you enjoy it.

 

It was easy to watch the woman from my perch in the tree. As I looked through her window, I could see her putting the finishing touches on her freshly curled hair. Soon she would dab some makeup on her wrists to cover up the bruises, and shortly after that, it would be my time to act.

I first saw the woman one summer night a few years ago. We were on a road winding through the forest and at that late hour the only light sources came from the moon and from the headlights of the car she was driving. As the car sped closer, the headlights grew bigger and brighter, until they were almost blinding. And that’s when the accident happened.

She swerved. She lost control. She crashed. Several branches of the tree she hit broke off due to the intensity of the impact. Shards of the glass from the no longer lit headlights were all over the ground. The tree was broken. The car was totaled. And the woman? Miraculously, she was alright.

Ever since the night of the accident, I stayed close to the woman. I followed her to work and spied on her through a window. I followed her to the gym, I followed her on her girls’ nights, I followed her home where I could continue to peer through her window. She never knew I was there, but I knew her whole life.

I looked through the window again. She was finished covering her bruises with makeup. I heard the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. The woman’s husband was home. It was time for me to take action. After all, I was the reason she swerved that night. She swerved to save me, a lowly, little squirrel. She saved my life, so I made myself an oath that one day I would save hers.

If you’re intrigued by this post and looking forward to what I’ll write about in the future, you can expect a new post every Saturday. Also, if you feel inclined, feel free to leave a comment below about what you think. Thanks for all your support and I hope you’ll come back next week. Stay Amazing!

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Finding the Light

I used to check the news everyday. Then I began wondering why it was called ‘news’ when just about everything in it was ‘bad news.’ Reading about, or watching all of the bad in the world was becoming highly upsetting to me so eventually I stopped checking the news. But the thing is, the evils of the world are still out there whether I know about them happening or not. And some of the worst evils are inescapable.

Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, everything going on in North Korea, the Manchester bombing at Ariana Grande’s concert, and the Las Vegas shooting are a few horror stories of such magnitude that hearing about them is unavoidable. The other stories that are impossible to avoid are the ones that hit close to home, the ones that hit just a few blocks from home.

On Thursday morning I woke up to a series of texts and emails from the CSU PD. There was a shooting right outside of campus, within walking distance from the school. As the day went on, details about what happened began to emerge. One girl was injured but will recover, three people, including the shooter, are dead. Among the victims was an art student at CSU. She was supposed to graduate this December. I didn’t know her, and I don’t believe any of my friends on campus did either. But the atmosphere on campus this past Thursday and Friday was not a joyful one. And me not knowing her or anyone directly impacted by this shooting doesn’t make what happened any less tragic.

When these horrific things happen, it can be challenging to see God. But He is there, He always is. He’s with the first responders. He’s there when people tell the stories about what and who they’ve lost, and is forever entangled in the memories people have of those who have been lost. He is the light in the dark. It is truly fascinating how noticeable a bit of light can be, even when darkness surrounds it. In fact, the darkness is what makes the light stand out.

In a campus-wide email that CSU President Tony Frank sent out he talks about light.

“Each of you is a unique light with the badly needed potential to brighten our world’s dark places – both large and small.”

That special light inside of all of us is God. It may shine in some us differently than it does in others, but they all originate from the same source. God can use us to aid in a tragedy – no matter the size. The question is, will you let Him?

To those who have been affected, whether it was this shooting in Fort Collins, or another event, your pain does not go unnoticed. Your grievances, and your sense of loss are all valid. I hope that somewhere in all of this darkness, that God is using someone to act as a light for you.

If you’re intrigued by this post and looking forward to what I’ll write about in the future, you can expect a new post every Saturday. Also, if you feel inclined, feel free to leave a comment below about what you think. Thanks for all your support and I hope you’ll come back next week. Stay Amazing!

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Acts of Kindness: My Friend From Preschool

While I don’t possess an eidetic or photographic memory, my memory is better than most people’s. It’s good enough that I have a fairly decent recollection from my time as a preschooler. And today, I will be sharing some of my memories from that time period, or more specifically, about someone special from that time in my life.

As previously discussed in other posts, in some ways I was not your typical child so it is not surprising that I didn’t make friends at Alphabet Soup Preschool – at least not right away. The teachers were strict and the kids laughed at me because I had never heard of the food ‘worms ‘n’ dirt’ before (I know, I know, depressing stuff.). Initially, there was one kid I had as a friend because we already knew each other as our parents were friends. And then there was Beau.

The only physical characteristic I remember about Beau is that he had dark hair (he was also probably short because we were four and five years old!). I also have no idea what his last name is, if I’m even spelling his first name right, or what has become of him. But I do remember what matters the most; his character and friendship.

Beau would talk to me and play with me. Outside in the schoolyard, there was this gray, plastic castle structure that we played on until a bunch of boys came to kick me off because “no girls allowed.” Well, let’s just say Beau changed the rule and let me on. He would stick up for me when no one else, including myself, would. He and I became friends along with the other boy I knew and we had each other’s backs. And eventually, all of the other kids warmed up to me and we all became friends to. All was well.

But time passed and soon it was time for us four and five-year old’s to ‘graduate’ and enter our next stage of life; elementary school. And elementary school was a wonderful time in my life that I wouldn’t have had any other way, but those are stories for future posts.

Considering this was only a sendoff to kindergarten, the setup for it was pretty legit. I mean, we had a freakin’ stage. We’re all a bunch of little kids, seriously who does that? And of course, like any graduation, when our name was called, we had to go and walk across the stage to receive of diploma.

Now there are some important concepts to remember here; I was only four years old, slightly shy and in a roomful of people, and did not yet have experience with performing or doing anything in front of audience. So of course when my name was called, instead of walking across the stage, I just stood there, frozen and wishing all of these frightening strangers would quit staring at me. I was way too afraid to walk across that stage in front of all my classmates and their extremely tall parents I’d never met.

That is, until Beau (gosh I really hope I’ve been spelling his name right!) came to my rescue. He walked right over to me, grabbed my hand, and said to me, “Audrey you can do this!” And then, together, we walked across the stage to receive my diploma. Then after the ceremony all of us got balloons and of course I accidentally let go of mine and had to watch it float off into the distance. Upon seeing this, Beau promptly released his balloon which then led to the other kids releasing their’s too (sorry environment!). And that was the last time I ever saw Beau.

Sixteen years later, here I am, writing about some kid I only knew for a brief period of my life. And why? Because a kind act, no matter how simple or minuscule, should not be overlooked. Sure, the story is pretty silly, but Beau’s friendship and all of the kind things he did made the world to me as a four-year old girl. So my dear reader, when given the choice, choose to be kind. It will likely mean more to that person than you think, and it will be remembered. And if by chance, you’re out there Beau, thank you for being one of the kindest people I’ve ever met and I hope you are doing well (and I’m sorry if I’ve been misspelling your name!).

If you’re intrigued by this post and looking forward to what I’ll write about in the future, you can expect a new post every Saturday. Also, if you feel inclined, feel free to leave a comment below about what you think. Thanks for all your support and I hope you’ll come back next week. Stay Amazing!

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What is the Holy Spirit?

During the numerous Sunday church services I have attended in my life, I’ve heard quite a bit about God and Jesus. Don’t get me wrong – they’re extremely important but I wish that the churches I’ve been to would spend some more time discussing the Holy Spirit. After all, it is a part of the Holy Trinity (hence why it’s called a ‘trinity’). There’s three parts to it, and yet for some reason we seem to give the majority of our attention to two of them.

One of the reason the Holy Spirit may not be brought up as often is because it’s such an abstract concept when compared to God, or to Jesus. Jesus was a living, breathing, man who walked upon the earth, and God is the creator of everything, but the Holy Spirit can’t exactly be summarized in this way.

“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgements about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgements, for, ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” – 1Corinithians 2:10-16

Yeah, I know that was kind of a long set of verses, but they help spell out what the Holy Spirit is and why we have received it. The Holy Spirit is essentially the Spirit of God; it is our way of being able to discern what is and isn’t Godly. It dwells in all of us and by listening to it, we can go forth knowing that we are being led by the Lord. It is like a conscience in the sense that it tells us right from wrong. This is a gift from God that rests inside all of us that speaks His wisdom.

I always used to think about how once I died and went to Heaven, that I would get to go around and ask all the disciples about what it was like to spend time with Jesus. But then one day, I was at a Bible Study prep meeting and one of my friend’s said that all of the people who died before the Holy Spirit arrived are going to be eager to listen to us tell them what it was like to have the Spirit of God inside of us. It may be the final piece of the Holy Trinity, but it’s still just as important as the other two parts, and I hope more churches and ministries take the time to discuss it.

If you’re intrigued by this post and looking forward to what I’ll write about in the future, you can expect a new post every Saturday. Also, if you feel inclined, feel free to leave a comment below about what you think. Thanks for all your support and I hope you’ll come back next week. Stay Amazing!

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Ron Weasley Deserves More Credit

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!!

“Don’t worry about it” said Ron. “They’re looking at me, I’m extremely famous.” -Ron Weasley in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Whenever I tell people Ron is one of my favorite characters from the HP series, I’m met with some responses of surprise and confusion. Poor Ron, the most unexceptional out of his large family and of course the trio – NOT. After paying close attention to the books and movies, it becomes clear that there’s so much more to him than the ‘goofy and under-shadowed best friend’ persona.

He Can Sacrifice

In the Philosopher’s (or Sorcerer’s if you’re American because apparently J.K. Rowling’s publisher didn’t think we could understand the term “philosopher” but I digress) Stone, Ron and the rest of the trio were no older than twelve. At age twelve he was willing to get creamed by a massive, living, chess piece for the good of the world. He was ultimately unharmed, but he could have easily been less fortunate. Later in the series, his sacrifices include dropping everything to help Harry when he believed Sirius Black was in trouble in Order of the Phoenix, and putting his life on hold to help Harry hunt for horcruxes in the Deathly Hallows.

He Figured Out Tom Riddle First

“Maybe he murdered Myrtle, that would’ve done everyone a favor…” Ron Weasley in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Hermione may get the credit for realizing the monster in the Chamber of Secrets was a basilisk, but Ron (who admittedly was joking) proposed Myrtle’s death being the result of Tom Riddle, so props to him!

He Rescued Harry and Gave Him a Family

Not even a full year after befriending Harry; Ron, Fred, and George steal their Dad’s flying car to rescue him from his abusive living situation. That’s pretty commendable. After that he constantly has Harry over for the holidays as well as parts of the summer. In his first year at Hogwarts, Ron tells his mother that Harry won’t get any Christmas gifts from the Dursleys, knowing full well she’d go all out in showering Harry with gifts. Ron Weasley gave Harry on of his strongest desires; a loving family.

He’s a Goofball

When you really think about it the HP series is actually quite dark. There’s inequality, loss, abuse, death, etc. And sometimes the best way to escape darkness is through utilizing humor – like the “riddikulus” spell for boggarts. Ron is the “riddikulus” in the series.

He Beat the Chess Game

I know I already touched on the chess set but I’m going to return to it. Professor McGonagall, a Gryffindor-Ravenclaw hats tall, created a life-sized wizard’s chess set as an obstacle to keep the Philosopher’s (*sighs* or Sorcerers) Stone safe. And first year Ron Weasley beat it. He bested McGonagall. That’s a huge deal. I’m certain that after this incident the professor began to realize his potential and intellect.

Eat Slugs!

As a second year, Ron comes to Hermione’s defense when Draco Malfoy calls her a “Mudblood.” The spell backfires and hits Ron instead due to his broken wand. So what’s so impressive about this? It was a non-verbal spell and the only reason it wasn’t perfectly executed is because his wand was broken. Students at Hogwarts don’t learn how to execute non-verbal spells until their sixth year. So Ron performed a pretty neat piece of magic.

Ron is more than a sideshow. His character is courageous, fun, intelligent, and has more depth than what someone may originally notice. This was a Ronald Weasley Appreciation Post and there’s honestly so much more I could have added but I didn’t want to make the post too terribly long. So to J.K. Rowling, I thank you for including Ron in your stories.

If you’re intrigued by this post and looking forward to what I’ll write about in the future, you can expect a new post every Saturday. Also, if you feel inclined, feel free to leave a comment below about what you think. Thanks for all your support and I hope you’ll come back next week. Stay Amazing!