-The fact that friends that are two years younger than me are still in high school, and that other friends that are two (or even less) years older than me (or heck, maybe even younger than me) are married. Just an observation I made while on Facebook...
-And Disney World. I've never been there (I'm not lying, and you should take me!) but we watched a video about its inner-workings in one of my classes and it made me want to go so much more badly! I don't think I even realized that it consisted of four seperate theme parks. And all that it entails... wow... it just blows my mind... I want to go!

P.S. I think my second minor is going to be in marketing... The fact that I suddenly have an interest in it also blows my mind...

-I heard a Christmas song on the radio yesterday.
-There might be a film major at MTSU soon.
-I have NO idea what to take next semester other than Single Camera Directing and Producing (which should be good - woot!).
-I have no idea what to with the two million electives I am forced to take because my major requires so little (since, mind you, these potential film classes probably won't count, since that would make too much sense).
-I have to file my upper-division form this semester... and as you can tell from the previous points, (minus the thing about the Christmas song) I'm unsure of what to do besides minor in psychology...

Uh... help?

So I typed out most of what I wanted to share with y'all about New York in a Word document, and then I sort of stopped because I was tired of it. And then I never got back to it. And then the longer ago the trip was the less I cared about finishing it. And then I remembered that it was boring and journalistic anyhow (what I wrote, not the trip of course)! So in a nutshell...

It was great fun, freezing cold, challenging, and engaging. Ipassed out a lot of flyers and assembled a lot of Easter eggs. I talked to a Roman Catholic who believes that most any way to heaven is a good way. I talked to a guy who says that the Germans are the most decent and good people on earth and that mathematics holds the answers to the universe. I prayed earnestly over the city as God opened my eyes to the lonliness and pain there.

I survived on a diet of true NY style pizza, various forms of chicken (everything from strips to quesadillas to burritos), a tough cookie, bitter pasta, an amazing chocolate sundae, Airheads, a Subway meatball sandwich (I'm not a fan of Subway.. just for the record), chocolate muffins, water, Starbucks' white chocolate mocha, breakfast bars, and I think about one or two pieces of fruit. I walked five flights of stairs and a few miles every day, and stood for hours that week in various subways and subway stations.

I stayed in a cramped room with five other girls and orange walls. I dodged a leaking sink every morning and night. I broke a shower door. I slept in the JFK airport at 3 AM in the morning.

I endured freezing wind chills and snow.

I experienced paintings by Picasso. I browsed Tiffany's. I saw Phantom of the Opera.

I had an absolute blast... it's definitely in my Top 3 for mission experiences (you have to realize how many mission trips I've been on for that to sound pretty elite... just know that it is). But most importantly, what did I learn from my experience?

I must confess, I stopped having spiritual highs for every trip/retreat/camp/etc. that I went to a few years ago. I got to the point where those didn't really cut it anymore. Only an earth-shattering experience with Him unlike any other is going to give me that feeling of elation.

All that being said, I never experienced a high from this trip. I knew that God was using me but I didn't feel useful. I knew that I was potentially reaching people, but it didn't seem like it. And to me, more than passing out flyers or talking to people on the street or anything else, I felt the most engaged in reaching New York City when praying for the people there... which I can do right here! And not only can I pray for the people there here, but I can also pray for those here who need Him, and those elsewhere who need Him, in places I may never see.

This past Friday night, Garrett took me out to Red Robin. While we were sitting there waiting for our food, I saw a friend of mine from high school (he's younger though and is a senior this year) working there. I called his name and we spoke briefly. He didn't give me many details, but he told me that he had read The Case for Faith (the student edition), a book I had presented to because he seemed willing to read about any religion except Christianity, and said that he found it "informative". That in itself gave me joy and encouragement. Ever since I left that classroom, I've been praying for this guy. Not everyday, but whenever I think of him I pray for him. And it seems that now he is one step closer than he was the last time I saw him.

I can't believe how many times I've dismissed the power of prayer. And I'm so excited to witness a glimmer of how God is working through me in others' lives! If my only reason for living was to reach out to this guy, that would be fine. If that was all God had in His grand plan, it would be ok. And yes, I am pretty much just saying that, with hope that it isn't true, but I also sincerely believe that whatever I am living for, regardless of whether it seems big or small to me or others, is good enough for God, because He created me with a purpose in mind.

All that being said, I am seeing how God might want to use me here. There's that girl in one of my classes that really needs to experience His love. There's the final project in TV Production I am doing with John, Jolene, and Sully, that's going to be about a missionary. There's the documentary I feel like I'm supposed to make next summer for my honors thesis. There's my daily life I am to live for His glory in every way possible, even if it doesn't seem like much.

That's the challenge I have taken from New York. That's the part that matters: living as one who is sent in my daily life. I'm working on praying more, being a better witness, and listening...  listening to where God wants me to go. I don't want to fret anymore about tomorrow... He's got a handle on it. He's been taking care of me.

Speaking of which, in case you haven't heard the news, my dad got a new job! My family is so incredibly excited! It feels like we're finally getting settled here. So anyhow, now he's going to be working at MTSU, so we're also all centralized in one location, which is really neat!

One last word... if you're somewhere in life where you feel defeated by your circumstances, just look up. God's working behind the scenes for you... I promise. I've waited YEARS to see my dad get a job like this, and God has chosen this time to bless my family. And I know that His time is the best time. Waiting for the best is worth it... period.

A novel about my New York experience... there's so much to tell...

Monday night I realized just how dry and stale my spirtual life has been lately. Even during One Weekend as I lead I could sense that there was something missing there that I wasn't completely getting. I haven't been focused on God lately. I had a busy week, and that was my excuse for not spending time in His Word.

Justifying my actions doesn't make them right.

I wasn't focused on God as I should have been, and that was wrong. I'm not going to lie and say I have it all together tonight either. But I'm walking towards the right direction once again.

I really have trivialized the power and importance of prayer. How could I possibly dismiss prayer after the exprience I had the summer after my sophomore year of high school, when I felt so compelled to pray for a boy I did not know and yet I could feel spiritual warfare waging over his soul one night at church camp?

Monday night I came to God half-heartedly... please bless the trip I'm about to go on... blah blah blah... but then I felt a little prick. And it increased throughout the night. First I was convicted about witnessing in my everyday life, and then I was convicted of my lack of zeal as I heard passionate praises around me from others. Where had I gone wrong? Why wasn't I feeling this way?

I had simply taken my eyes off Him.

My latest video project, which I did with John (Dunahoo) and Jolene, is due tomorrow. Just yesterday I was stressed over it. And even though I actually haven't seen the final result, I feel a peace about it, that it's alright and that we have is going to work out, even though we had to cut it up for length and such.

I have another video project coming up right after Spring Break. It's a studio project and I feel anything but prepared, but I know God will get me through it.

Last night I met with a few friends, and we were all able to open up to one another in a way that I know was ordained by God. It was incredible. If we all actually shared with one another and prayed for one another on a regular basis... wow... our lives would be changed... it's incredible to fellowship with believers on that level.

New York is around the corner. I'm not prepared. I'm not ready. But I love God and I love that city, so I will keep my focus on Him and I know that He will guide me through it all.

I've known all the answers for a while now. I can talk predestination, purity, and Paul with you all day long... but I need to get back to the basics in a sense... I just need to get back to loving God. Period. Everything else will flow out of that, and thank goodness it does. I've tried doing things in my own strength for a while, and it doesn't work. But God's always got a handle on it. Thank goodness for that!

I cannot even begin to explain the busyness of my week and weekend, but it's been crazy. My schedule's been so hectic that I had to work less than 15 hours this week (I usually work 20). And it's not over yet! This week won't be as bad as next week, but I still have school stuff. On Saturday I will finally be able to chill out, only to wake up early the next morning to be at church by 4:30 to head off to New York.

Will life ever slow down again?

Well, I'm not sure if one day is changing my life at the moment, but it was a possibility, and that in itself was a pretty... well... intriguing thought.

But really, I bet single days have had a far greater impact on my entire life than I realize. The day I chose to do certain things, or chose not to do certain things. It's quite crazy. Moving to TN changed my life. Going to Belle Aire changed my life. Going to Riverdale changed my life. Going to MTSU is changing my life. Several decisions have shaped my life, and I am interested in seeing what's down the road for me and how God will bring about the desires of my heart. Will I really get to do all these great things that I desire so deeply? Will I get to experience some of these things sooner than I have imagined?

I think I have a new perspective of how God can work in my life. He can work in ANY way. I suppose that sounds silly because I should have always known that, but I always felt that there were certain ways He would never move. And now I'm seeing how foolish it is to put God in a box. He can move in some pretty surprising ways...

I don't know how God wants to use me after this semester. Or even this semester. I don't know how He is going to use my talents and abilities. If I keep looking to Him though, I know that all of that will fall into place.

It's incredible that one day could change the course of your entire life...

So... a lot of you know my family situation from when we first moved here, and everything we went through to all be together and settled down at last.

Well, while my dad's current job has been ok, he has been looking around for other possibilities, and is going to have an interview tomorrow for a job with MTSU's computer science program. I really think this would be a blessing, but of course we only want God's will. So if you could pray for him that would be great! Thanks!

In other news, I just ordered my new Canon SD700 IS today on Amazon! Yay! Thanks to everyone who gave me advice; it really helped!

As a Christian, it can be extremely easy to get distracted. It's so easy to take the focus off of God and put it on ourselves. It's so much easier to love ourselves more than our neighbors, to serve ourselves rather than God and others. I'm afraid that this has been something that I have been struggling with lately without even realizing it (until now). In my everyday life, there are people around me hurting. Why can't I just step back from my self-consumed world to see that and reach out to them? And why is it that when I am supposed to be worshipping God that I am so preoccupied about what's happening in my life?

I recently purchased the latest Starfield CD, "Beauty in the Broken", and there's a song on there called "Captivate" that I absolutely love. What first caught my attention about was the music and the haunting tone of it. The lyrics, however, really hit home and apply to where I am at my life right now:

You say/ Strength is found weakness/ Peace in incompleteness/ So why do I hold on/ You look / For a heart that's open/ For beauty in the broken/ So why am I withdrawn/ My soul's screaming out/ To be found in you/ Spirit draw me/ To my knees/ Captivate/ All of me/ All of me/ Here before You/ Honestly/ Captivate/ All of me/ All of me/ I'm so messy and distracted/ Undisciplined and tactless here on the inside/ I thought age would tell the secrets/ But the secrets are still secret/ And the years are passing by/ Teach me to wait in the moments of my need/ Teach me to hear the melodies of peace.

Alright, enough of all this talk, I'm going to buy a new camera. After a lot of thought, I've decided to just go with a point and shoot, because at this point in my life, I don't do enough photography for a DSLR. If I ever feel the urge to use such a camera, I could use my mom's SLR Nikon that she has. But anyhow, since video is becoming a bigger part of my life now, I feel the need to invest in that more and other hobbies less. But I want a nice camera that takes good pictures, so I'm definitely going with a Canon.

And now, this is where you come in. Should I go for the SD630 or the SD700? The advantage of the SD700 is the image stablization and 4X optical zoom. The downside of the 700 is also the image stablization, which can mess up the picture quality. The advantage of the 630 is a 3-inch LCD screen (which is pretty awesome) and it's cheaper. The downside is no image stablization and the optical zoom is not as high. The purpose of this camera is mostly to take great quality pictures of my friends and me and our adventures, like my trip to New York in March, but something that can also take a nice artsy pic if the occasion arises.

So photography connoisseurs, please share your thoughts!

P.S. I enjoyed the snow, and my semester is going quite well!

It's only week 3 and I've already felt stressed about school (but it is fading, thank goodness).

It's only Tuesday but I feel the need for the weekend.

But I will survive.

Doing a video project in two weeks is not so much fun, but I think it's going to be ok. For anyone who was considering helping and just haven't gotten back to me don't worry about it, because I've got it figured out now. So now I don't have to worry so much about that now. Phew!

This week is incredibly long. I can't believe it's only Tuesday.

This semester I have discovered TV. Sounding a little silly coming from a TV production major, but it's pretty true. This evening after a long day of school, work, and j-group, I watched American Idol and House. House was really good up until the very last few minutes, which completely killed it! Ugh! It made me upset!

And I'm not going to lie, I like American Idol. I know Simon and them are completely obnoxious at times and I probably shouldn't enjoy it so much... but I haven't really watched it before and from what I've heard Simon has always been rude, so I really have nothing to compare it to either than such statements.

So if you will, pray that God will give me guidance about something. I feel like he's calling me to do something kinda big... which is scary but also very exciting!

Other than all of the above, not to much has been happening to me in my life. Looking back over the past few days, I think I have been warring some settle spiritual warfare (if that's possible... I suppose it is) and I think I'm a lot more focused on Christ this semester than I was last... let's hope it stays that way.

Ok guys, so I really need some help.

I have an upcoming video project, and I need some volunteers. There are two main roles: one guy and one girl, so I need such people to be willing to act as a main character. There is no dialogue in this video, so you don't have to worry about memorizing. And then, I could also use several warm bodies who are just willing to be in front of the camera but in the background of the main action (for teh most part). Extras for this video are pretty crucial because there will be some shots of them and things that they are doing, but nothing major. So even if you're not much of an actor, if you're not totally camera shy and can do something simple for me I would greatly, greatly appreciate it. My partner for the project is going to try to recruit some of his friends as well, but I wanted the more who are willing the more we have to work with. We would probably shoot next Thursday and this is for my TV Production class.

Also, if anyone works at any sort of restuarant and thinks that we could shoot where you work at a time when it's not busy or something let me know. Or if anyone can think of a location that looks similar to a restaurant but really isn't and can be easily disguised as such and is accessible that would be awesome. Thanks guys, and I'm sorry I'm always mooching for help, but just get used to it because I have at least two more projects this semester plus *hopefully* a short film for the MTSU student film festival... but we'll see how that goes...

Between brothers and sisters.

Between mothers and daughters.

Between fathers and sons.

Between teachers and students.

Between bosses and employees.

Between this church and that church.

Between the Prime Minister of this country and the President of that country.

Between you and God.

Between God and me.

What if we were to simply open up our ears...

And listen to each other?

That we may avoid this miscommunication...

And thus began to understand each other.

I really like something that Brother Dean said this morning in church...

You have to make a choice. You are either for God, or against God.

So then why do we have so many lukewarm, riding on the fence, watered down Christians running around?

Why do we proclaim Christ, supposedly choosing Him, and then turn around and not act like it? Why do we ignore the teachings in the Bible that we don't like and only live out the ones we do like? I know I'm guilty of this. We try to justify our sin (and even the sins of others), regardless of whether or not the Bible addresses that issue directly. It may be a blatant command and we still try to find a way around it.

Why do we want to live like that? If we truly loved God, and if we truly had a relationship with Him, wouldn't we want to (and desire to) live according to His Will, and do exactly what He has commanded? Shouldn't we be so focused on Him in every aspect of our lives (including but not limited to dating and marriage, politics, our career, our major, etc.) that the right thing just naturally flows out, leaving no room for grey and doubt? Why are we worried about leaving God in control when we know that His way is the best way?

So, if you have chosen to follow Christ, and none other, then why don't you start acting like it? Why don't you and I look to Him alone for our every need? If we love Him as much as we claim to, and have a personal relationship with Him as we state we do, then I think we ought to live it out.

Well last night I got very little sleep, and I just knew that this would result in a miserable first day back, but now I am happy to announce that I had an absolutely fantastic first day back!

I arrived on campus before 8, and was happy to get a parking spot. I went straight to the business office and worked for a little while before heading to my first class, Honors Psychology of Social Behavior. I am going to love this class. My teacher started teaching today and I just didn't care because it was so interesting. Bailey Alderson is in that class with me and of course familar faces always make a class better. We both agreed that this should be a good class.

After that I headed for Television Production, and that of course was fun. Not only do I have the same teacher as last semester, but we are also meeting in the same room, not to mention a lot of the same people are there... so needless to say, it was really nice and familiar. It was so great to see Ryan, Jason,  John, Jolene (who did get in the class and is in my lab! Yay!), and several other familiar faces. We had to introduce one another and I met a cool girl that way so that was pretty fun.

After that, I headed to the KUC and hung out with friends, and that pretty much ended the wonderfulness of my day because then I had to face the massive crowds at work... ick...

So anyhow, I hope tomorrow goes equally as well. Unfortunately, I don't have friends in either class AND they are both senior level courses... which scares me a little, but one of the teachers is supposed to be easy and I'm thinking the other class shouldn't be so bad. Anyhow, I have a weird break from 11:15ish to 12:40ish, so if anyone else has this break we ought to hang out!

Everyone else who went back today let me know how it went for them!

So, I realize that it has now been 2007 for 14 days, but I never really made any sort of blog post to commerirate the event, so that is what I aim to do now with some "best of" moments...

Ringing in the new year at the Moore's...

Doing 3 for the Son and getting to know some awesome 7th grade girls...

Valentine's Day...

Hanging out with the McPhee's...

Practicing for "The Hiding Place"...

Fun in the sun with friends...


Which included my two year anniversary with someone special...

Summer AO...

Two Damascus Road shows...

Atlanta...

...especially the awesome log ride...

Switchfoot concert #1...

Garrett's family cookout...

Wrapping up the summer with goofiness and fun...




MTSU games...



Road trip fun...

Fall retreat and many new friends...


Time with him...

Hanging out with old friends when I needed it most...

Working on Collage with some great friends...

Switchfoot concert #2...

Thanksgiving and the Christmas season...

Ringing in the new year...


What I learned in 2006:
*Worrying and stressing are not worth it.
*There is absolutely nothing I can do that will make God love me any more or less.
*Growing up is about responsibility.
*Astronomy is evil.
*Being perfect is impossible and the effort to be such is completely futile.
*People change and will surprise you (both for the better and for the worse).
*People know what I stand for just by my actions.
*Having an approximately 180 lb. person fall on top of your head results in a knot that remains for two months.
*Video production can be tough, but the end result makes the process totally worth it.

What I hope to achieve in 2007:
*Love God more.
*Judge no one.
*Love people more.
*Write more.
*Make a parody movie (help me make this happen this summer).
*Stress/worry less.
*Exercise. At least a little bit...

I need at least three girls who are avaliable tomorrow and Friday afternoon. I wouldn't necessarily need y'all on both of these days, but it would be great if you were avaliable just in case. Anyhow, this is all for making a contest to make a Dove commercial. The winner will have their commercial aired during the Academy Awards, which is pretty cool. I don't really have my hopes up about it, but it would be fun to make nontheless. So anyhow, let me know if you're interested. Sorry, boys can't be in the commercial... Dove may not be happy with having boys in a commercial about "real women"...

**EDIT** Mmm... yeah this probably won't happen... unless three of y'all are suddenly filled with ectasy about it and I come with a brilliant idea. I have been so focused all day on a discussion with friends, which I wrote an intense Facebook note so I haven't had much time to brainstorm. It brings up an interesting possibility of something to try out in the future though... Anyhow, I should also start thinking about MTSU's film festival this spring, I REALLY want to do something with it...

Yes boys and girls, it is true. I finally figured out how to compress mine and Jolene's final video project from 1 GB to a size that MySpace is happy with and have uploaded it. You can either check it out on my MySpace (you can look me up if we aren't friends on there already) and I also put up the link as a posted item up on Facebook. On my MySpace I have also uploaded my first class project, "Timmy's Birthday". If you love me, you will check them out and leave me wonderful comments about them. ;-)

I'm looking forward to TV Production next semester...

And I'm starting to think that 12 hours will suffice for next semester. I'm on schedule and my summer class will help me stay on track. So here's to next semester... TV Production, two psych classes, and the honors seminar Creativity and Exploration... I hope it's good!

Does anyone have Chris Madison's e-mail address? I need it por favor.

And somehow the hard drive got on my Mac got renamed... it went from... whatever the default is to 0. Strange... I'm not sure how that happened...

On a slightly (or vastly) different note, the Mississippi trip wasn't fun, but it wasn't as hard as last time... which isn't saying much. I don't think I could possibly convey to you the horrors of Alzheimer's. Nursing homes aren't fun either. My granddaddy lives in a dark, stuffy room, which he shares with another man who watches the news (can you say depressing?) and when he goes beyond his room he has to deal with the other residents, such as the woman who cries "mommy" without end. It's a sad place. I wouldn't wish that sort of life for anyone.

But life goes on.

And I still want to do a music video if anyone's interested. We only have like... one week... left until we go back to school! Ah! And I really want to pick up another class, but I can't seem to find anything that works my schedule or is interesting. Any suggestions?

So I've had a nice, relaxing week.

Next week I'll be in Mississippi, reminded once again of just how unfair this life is...

But the week after that, let's hang out. And maybe make a music video. Goof off. Bask in the glory of winter break and a new year.

I hope everyone has a good one!

If anyone knows how to get a video file from your Mac to load onto an iPod that would be marvelous. I was hoping I could put my video project on my new 30GB iPod but it won't let me! Saddness. So if you know what the secret is let me know por favor. I tried Add to Library and Import (or was it Export?) and I tried both my Final Cut Express version and my Quicktime version. The Quicktime version goes into iTunes but not into my iPod.

Also, I got a new phone, and after manually entering around 100 phone numbers I noticed I don't have everyone's number! I also noticed that some of you I don't call very often and was hoping that I still have the right number for all of you in case I do need to call you. So if you want to check up on that feel free to. My number is still the same.

Once again, Merry Christmas, and remember that today is a day of hope, love, peace, and joy! God bless!

*EDIT/ P.S.* Also, if anyone knows about downloading ring tones to your Verizon phone we need to talk. That doesn't appear to be working either...

So among three of my friends, I have noted that this Christmas season is not so cheery for all.

I would be lying if I said everything in my family life is perfect. My grandfather has been suffering Alzheimer's for a little while now (about a year or so), and I don't expect things to look too good when I go see him. In August when I saw him it was devestating, because he wasn't himself anymore.

There's a lot of pain out there, but through the pain there is hope, peace, and joy, and that is what this Christmas season is about. Even if you're not a Christian who believes in the birth of our Savoir, I hope you at least believe that there is always hope for you. And if you are a Christian, you can rest in knowing that you can give all that pain up to God, and He will take care of it.

I know I'm a big one to talk about giving it all to God because I'm the biggest worrywart ever, but how God has been healing me as I deal with the pain of my grandfather's illness has been a blessing. It's been tough, but he has given me peace. I know that one day, my grandfather won't have to suffer anymore. And I will be so happy for him when that day comes. I have grieved. To me, he's already gone, because he won't ever be the same as long as he's living on earth.

Whatever you're going through day by day and this holiday season, I hope that you will remember that you are never alone, and there is always hope.

I love each of you dearly.

What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has also made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
-Ecclesiastes 3:9-11

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." -Isaiah 30:21

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He wil not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. -Isaiah 40: 28-31

"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 a hope and a future. The you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." - Jeremiah 29:11 - 13

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. -Romans 8:18

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
-Romans 8:28

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
-James 1:2-4

            It was a
typical summer morning in Niceville. The sun was shining, the birds were
singing, and Ben Moser was at home watching the local news. Ben always watched
the news, in case something important happened, which was a rarity in a town
like Niceville. In fact, just the previous day when Ben watched the news he
learned that the town had been voted #1 for friendliness and safety in the
country. You see, everyone in Niceville was… well, nice, and thusly, everyone
was safe.

            This
morning was quite different however. After a pretty typical news report that
boasted the number of honor roll students at the local schools, there was a
sudden interruption. The TV screen turned black for a split second before the
image was revived and – “Ahhh! What is that hideous creature on my screen?!”
Ben screamed in terror as he drew his legs against his chest and began to rock
back and forth.

            “Hello,
Niceville, I hope you’re having a nice day,” the face on the screen smirked. “I
know I am. I’m having quite a nice day because today is the day I have taken
over your town! And now that I have done that, I will take over the whole
entire world!” The evil being then threw his head back, lifted up his hands and
laughed manically.

            “Who is
this evil man?!” Ben asked in horror as he clutched to a pillow from his couch
and trembled with fear.

            “Now you
may be wondering – who exactly is this very attractive man of power that I wish
to follow?” the image of the screen asked.

            “Not
exactly,” Ben trembled.

            “Well my
name is Brian the King, and I am your ruler!”

            Ben gasped
a ghastly gasp as a revelation came upon him. He quickly grabbed his computer
and his Bible, and began researching on the evil creature known as Brian King.
He stumbled across Brian’s auto-biography on Wikipedia, but it proved to be
completely worthless. He then found, however, another source that gave Ben just
the information he was looking for. And with that, he opened up his Bible and studied
the verses that were highlighted orange throughout. When he finished his
research, Ben dropped his Bible and gasped, “This man must be the antichrist!”

            Ben,
confused and afraid, was unsure of what to do. Before he had time to take
action, Ben heard the nauseating voice coming from the screen again: “Well
residents of Niceville, since I am unable to take over the rest of the world as
easily as your town, and I’m merely losing patience, I am going underground
with seven beautiful young women and starting over as all of you are crushed to
death from the impending asteroid hurling down to Earth this very moment! I
wish the best of luck to all of you!” The screen zapped to black again, and Ben
changed the channel to see what was happening. 

            “It appears
that there is an asteroid heading straight for earth,” stated a scientist clad
with thick glasses and a white lab coat that stood in front of an audience,
pointing to a globe. In his monotone drone he continued, “It will take
approximately thirty minutes for it to get here, and the direct impact will
take place in Niceville, Tennessee, but will destroy most of the
Earth within a matter of minutes.” As journalists on the screen began to
bombard the scientist with questions, Ben dropped the remote control and gaped
in horror.  

            “I’ve got
to talk to Nathan! He’ll know what to do!” With that, Ben flew out of his house
and ran two doors down to his neighbor Nathan Moore’s house. Ben flung open
Nathan’s door and began shouting for him.

            “I’m down
in the basement!” Ben heard a faint call from below. Ben quickly spotted the
stairs leading down the open door of the basement and soared down there,
leaping over three steps at a time.   

            When Ben
arrived, he quickly noted Nathan’s calm nature as he sat as his desk reading.
He then frantically posed the question: “How in the world can you calmly sit
here reading your books when the world is going to be destroyed in-” Ben
checked his watch, “twenty-eight minutes?!?!?!”

            “What are
you talking about, Ben?” Nathan looked up from his books.

            “Well
first, the antichrist was coming to take over the world, and now he’s going to
an underground shelter to protect himself and seven beautiful women while the rest
of us are crushed to death by the asteroid that is heading straight for
Niceville in-” Ben checked his watch again, “twenty-seven minutes!!!”

            “An
asteroid?!” Nathan’s eyes grew wide.

            “Yeah man,
that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you! We’re all about to die!” Ben let out
a quick sniffle and threw his arms around his neighbor. “I always loved you,
man.”

            “Oh spare
me the mushy stuff, Ben,” Nathan rolled his eyes. “I know how to stop the
asteroid from coming down and crushing all of us. I’ve been studying on it for
years, okay?”

            “You do?!
Well can you do it in-” watch check, “twenty-six minutes?!”

            Nathan
shrugged. “No problem. Just grab that satellite over there in the corner, I’ll
grab my laptop, and we’ll blow this baby up to bits.”

            Ben did not
have time to question Nathan’s logic and quickly followed orders. Within
moments, the two were out in Nathan’s front yard, connecting the satellite
contraption to Nathan’s PowerBook. Nathan was reviewing his notes, which he had
aptly titled, “How to Destroy an Asteroid Heading for Earth” as Ben alternated
between looking at his watch and looking at the sky. “Twenty minutes left!” Ben
screamed in horror as he dropped to the ground and covered his head.

            “Alright, I
think I remember everything now,” Nathan said nonchalantly as he closed his
notepad and began to type furiously.          

            “What are
you doing?” Ben asked, cautiously uncovering his head and slowly sitting up.

            “I’m typing
in the asteroid’s coordination points in the Destroy an Asteroid program I
developed.”

            “What will
that do?”

            Nathan
looked at Ben point-blank. “Destroy the asteroid.”

            “Well I
know that! But how?! All we have is your little PowerBook and this hunk of
metal!” Ben motioned to the satellite.

            “The
information I put into this program will channel through to the satellite,
which will then use the sufficient lasers and whatever else necessary in order
to target the asteroid and destroy it, diffusing all its particles throughout
space… except…” Nathan’s voice trailed off as he smirked and continued to type
in a furious matter.

            “Except
what?!” Ben asked more than once, but Nathan did not respond, so Ben gave up
and decided to trust his friend.

            At the
fifteen-minutes-until-doom point, Nathan asked Ben to remember some
coordinates, which Ben repeated to himself over and over again until Nathan
asked for the recollection of them. It was at the ten-minutes-until-doom point
when Nathan said, “Well here goes nothing,” and pressed the return key on his
PowerBook. Ben held his breath in anticipation, expecting a fancy light show
and a giant explosion to occur. Instead, all he saw was a single green laser
reaching for space, and nothing more.

            “Oh no!
We’re all going to die!” Ben wailed aloud as he covered his head once more.  

            “No man,
that’s it,” Nathan reassured Ben, shifting the position of his laptop so that
Ben could see the screen. The image on the screen was a beautiful sight: a live
capture of the single green laser reaching space and successfully destroying
the asteroid, blowing it to pieces! Ben watched in awe and amazement as the pieces
scattered throughout space, no where near the earth, except –

            “Hey
Nathan, where’s that one piece going?” Ben pointed to a hefty size of asteroid
left over that was headed towards the earth.

            “Remember
those coordinates I gave you?”

            “Yeah.”

            “Well I
tracked down the antichrist with my GPS system and was able to manipulate the
movement of the asteroid’s blown up parts just enough to save some action for
Mr. Brian King.”

            “How did
you know Brian King was the antichrist? I don’t remember telling you.”

            “You
didn’t, but I’ve been reading up on Brain King in my studies lately, and it’s
been quite clear to me. And now he’s about to be in for one heck of a
surprise.”

            “Will he
die?” Ben asked, hopeful.

            “Probably
not. But he’ll be severely crippled by the impact and the world will be able to
bring justice to him.”

            “Cool,” Ben
nodded in approval.

            Nathan
quickly brought up the Internet, just in time to catch the live news coverage
of the asteroid chunk crushing Brian King in his underground haven. Ben cheered
victoriously as he gave Nathan a high-five.

            Within a
matter of seconds, vans from various news stations screeched in front of
Nathan’s yard, journalists jumping out and surrounding Nathan, wanting to know
just how exactly he saved the world and severely crippled the evil Brian King.
Nathan insisted that it was no big deal, but of course Ben gushed about what a
hero Nathan was and how he needed to be put in charge of National Security.

            And so that
summer day in Niceville that started out just as typical as any other ended
with the proclamation of Nathan as an national hero and the execution of the
short-lived dictator and evil antichrist Brian King. Nathan was honored with a
parade, millions of dollars, and Brian King’s seven beautiful women. Nathan,
however, decided he only wanted one of them, the lovely Rachael Meyer who had
abhorred the evil dictator. So the two were wed and resided in Niceville, just
two doors down from Ben. And Ben was also honored for his assistance to Nathan
and became a diligent student of Nathan’s notes so that he too could one day
save the world with a satellite and a PowerBook if ever needed. So Niceville
returned to its normal, safe state, and everyone lived happily ever after…
except Brian King of course.

 

The End.

So I finally get a break from school, so ready to write away, wanting  espeically to primarily focus on my novel that I have been working on for several years.

But I am so stuck.

Yep... it's writer's block.

I don't need story ideas... what I need is more... more things that can happen within a story to keep it flowing. Like conflicts, topics to cover, etc. For some background info, the novel is supposed to (unless I change my mind, which has happened many times in the creation of this story) take place within the span of a year, and believe me, it's really hard to cover such a long period of time! It focuses on four main characters. They are in high school (juniors at first and then later seniors) and each of them has like a main conflict/issue I am focusing on, but I need some other ideas for things that pop up. Anyhow, in either September or October, a high school shooting is going to occur, and so everything before that is part of the normal routine of the characters as well as building up that moment. So if you're feeling sort of creative or whatever today, feel free to leave me some ideas!

P.S. Break from school = bliss!