May 12 - 16

WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS

PRESTON

Preston wrote an essay about his life.  For language arts he's been writing autobiographical essays.  It has been fun to hear what he has to say about his childhood and his current life as a teen.  

"Everyone of us is unique, no two of us are exactly alike (even identical twins). Like snowflakes, each one of us is different, and that’s what makes us the authentic, awesome individual that we are! And so my friend, I shall share with you a little bit about myself. 

To start, I am a more quiet and laid back person. I tend to spend more time alone than with other people, but because of that, seeing friends every now and then becomes great fun due to the scarce time we are in each other’s presence. Don’t get me wrong I love other people, but I quite enjoy the time I have to do things solo.

In addition, I find that I often am in my head a little too much. This is exactly why I like activities like running, working out, hiking, audiobooks, reading, qigong, meditation, building things (LEGO, blocks, etc) drawing, stop motion, mowing the lawn, cooking, practicing piano, filming and editing videos, and many other productive things to bring me back into my body. 

Next, I have many interests and hobbies. One such hobby is karate. It is absolutely amazing the journey I’ve had to become a 2nd degree black belt! At first, I wasn’t in the best shape, and it was more difficult. But I trained and trained for years. My skills kept developing, and I kept learning and growing, and becoming stronger. And then, I finally earned my 1st degree black belt, and it was amazing! It was so amazing that two years later I  went above and beyond to reach the even higher rank of 2nd degree. It’s truly amazing the hard work I’ve put in, the strength I’ve built up, the discipline I’ve gained, the skills I’ve sharpened, and overall the dedication and commitment I put in to become a sensei level black belt in this marvelous sport and art! A true master of my craft.

Going off that same theme as martial arts, an Asian inspired tv show I love very much is Ninjago. This show centers around a group of four ninja Kai, Cole, Jay, and Zane who must get the Golden Weapons before the evil Lord Garmadon. The show would then go on to introduce Lloyd Garmadon, the Green Ninja, destined to face his father in a final battle. And this is exactly what got me into the show. My favorite color is green, so I was pretty hooked to the series as a child. But as I grew older (and to this day) I continue to see the story, growth, and fantastic character arcs this show has. You would be surprised how deep and relatable the show is (especially considering it's a LEGO cartoon designed to sell expensive LEGO sets). Even now 14+ years later, and the show is still going, and still amazing as ever, and I absolutely love it. Other tv shows as well like Legends of Chima and Monkie Kid, are just as awesome!

Lastly, I would just like to say, there are so many things I am interested in. I can’t cover them all (or else this essay would go on forever) but here are a few more that come to mind. I enjoy being outside in nature as I love the sheer beauty and wonder of God's world. I enjoy reading good books as it’s just marvelous to see characters, world building, and a great story and message come off of written words on paper. Truly mind blowing! And now to conclude this paragraph, I am a son of God, and I love my life. Everyday I will keep living, learning, growing, and running toward the light.

MARISSA

Marissa wrote a paper on faith for Georgics.  She also read "Farmer George Plants a Nation" and "Thomas Jefferson Grows a Nation" for her class.  This is a copy of her paper on faith.  

Faith

“Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” - Martin Luther King Jr.  Faith is believing without seeing.  When we plant a seed we don’t know whether or not it will grow, but we have to have faith that with the proper care it will.  Our faith, like a plant, must be nurtured, or it will wither away and die.  We must put our faith into all things.  Whether it be that your brother will pick you up from seminary, or that Jesus will always be by our side.  As we allow our faith to grow we will be more happy, more trusting, and with our faith come closer to Christ.  

At one point in my life I was really struggling with my faith in Jesus Christ.  I began questioning my faith and if Jesus was real.  This was a really low point in my life and there were a lot of hard things happening to me and my family.  I tried to stay optimistic and look unto Christ, but that wasn’t helping much.  I had heard in many scripture stories that if we came unto Christ he would take away our pain, but that was not fully true.  If we turn to him he will help us, but he will not take away our pain.  If he always just took away our pain, what would we learn?  Nothing.  He wants us to learn and grow from our trials, so that we can come closer to him and begin to live in his way.  He wants us to have faith that this too shall pass, and that if we come unto him he will help us make it out of our trials.  It took time for me to learn this, but I’m so grateful I did.  If I hadn’t gone through the trails I did, I would not have learned to be so grateful for Jesus Christ and what he did for us.  

Matthew 17:20 "Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of a mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”  This scripture is amazing!  It makes seemingly impossible things possible through faith as small as a mustard seed.  With faith we can do all things.  We can move mountains, walk on water, and become like Christ.  When I was little my grandma gave me a mustard seed necklace and told me that story.  She told me to always have faith, even if it’s the size of a mustard seed.  I will never forget that lesson.  Faith is very important, and I will try to always be faithful.  

CALEB

Caleb has been practicing for his play since January and finally got to perform "Imagine a Dragon."  He was Chef Clove and he did such a great job.  Everyone said he stole the show.  It was so much fun to watch him on stage!