Tagged... Ten Things on My Mind

So, apparently, if you read Eldra's latest post, you are officially tagged, so I have been tagged!

Here are ten things that have been on my mind recently:

1.)  Writing.  I am currently writing a story about a princess (what else?) and I am really excited about the possibilities.  So, we'll see how far it gets before I get bored...  Let's see if I can actually finish a story =)

2.)  ACT.  I just took the ACT yesterday, and I seriously think I died on the Math section... I'm not very good with numbers.  So, I'm pretty sure I bombed that portion, considering I had to guess on more than half of them.  But I think I did pretty well on the reading and grammar, and even the science! 

3.)  Violin.  I play the violin, and in my Orchestra class, we are playing Amazing Grace.  It isn't the Chris Tomlin version... it's the traditional version, the one without the cool bridge.  I mean, not that I don't like it without the cool bridge, I'm just not used to it...  It's really good =D

4.) Hymns.  Since I started playing Amazing Grace, I have had an infatuation with old hymns.  I blew the dust off of my old hymnal that my great-grandmother gave me, and just started playing out of it =).  I also have a really cool hymnal that gives you the sheet music and the history of the song, which is really cool.

5.)  Celtic Woman.  I love Celtic Woman!  Their voices are just so soothing!  I listen to them when I am writing.  I also listen to soundtracks; the music from particularly epic scenes inspires particularly epic actions for my characters to perform.

6.) Taylor Swift.  Yes, I like Taylor Swift.  No, I do not think she is the best singer in the world.  Yes, I get tired of her songs all being about more or less the same things.  Yes, I also happen to think that she is a decent singer with a pretty cool talent of writing songs about whatever she wants. 

7.) Birthdays.  I just had a birthday a few days ago (I'M SEVENTEEN!!!!).  My friend's birthday is today.  I gave her a bunch of Reeses' Pieces for her birthday.  It made her super happy, and when she is happy, it tends to be contagious.  My little brother's birthday is tomorrow, and HE IS TURNING THIRTEEN!!  My mom's birthday comes a little later, and then my sister's.  SHE IS TURNING TEN!!!! We will officially have NO MORE SINGLE-DIGITS IN OUR FAMILY! It's actually kind of scary, because unlike with Cooper and Wesley, I remember when Natalie was born.

8.) Church.  I have a friend who just moved here from Japan, and she is looking for a church.  I recommended mine, and she said she'd look into it.  Then, totally unaware of it, another friend of mine who goes to the same church as me recommended our church.  Neither of us even knew that Jessica knew both of us!  And we both recommended Christ Church to her!  That made me really excited.

9.) Art.  I have a Humanities test tomorrow, and I know all of the information, but I don't know the art... so lots of studying to do tonight and tomorrow. 

10.)  Cheetos.  I am eating a napkin full of Puff's WHITE CHEDDAR Cheetos.  They are SOOO good!  They are just a little bit addicting, and they probably aren't very healthy.  But oh, well.  Too bad, cuz they are really good!

And you have read this now.  So you're officially tagged.  Your turn!

Justification Through Faith vs. Through Faith and Good Works

I have often wondered why the Bible sometimes seems so contradictory on this matter.  In Romans, it says, "For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the Law" (Romans 3:28).  Also, in Romans 4:2-5, it says, "(2) If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about - but not before the eyes of God.  (3)What does the Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.'  (4)Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation.  (5)However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness."
However, in James, it says, "(24) You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. (25)In this way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?  (26)As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."



Mental faith and full-blown faith are different.  Even the demons have faith in God.  Yeah, the demons in Hell know that God exists - but it hasn't helped them at all, has it? 
But the mental knowledge that God is God - it's just as useless.  When you choose not to act on it, it isn't really true faith. 
Christians have a different faith in Christ - kind of like, faith in action.  Not only to the acknowledge that God exists, but they give Him complete control.

This goes sort of back to when I talked about why we can't sin - when we have truly accepted Jesus Christ into out hearts, and believe without a doubt that He died so that we could have a chance to spend Eternity with Him, we have died to sin.  If sin still controls your thoughts and actions, you are not truly dead to sin.
But if you truly have Jesus Christ in your heart, then sin becomes an abomination to you.  Jesus is living in you and changing you, so that you consciously grow closer to Him.  You are aware of the existence of sin, and are appalled by it.  Naturally, you will tend to make a conscious effort not to sin.

Now, does that mean that you are never going to sin again when you are a Christian?  Absolutely not.  You are still human.  But you have comfort in the fact that you know that Jesus has paid the price for your sins, so that you have assurance. 

If you truly have faith in God, and if Jesus is truly living in you, then "good works" kind of comes natural.  As you grow closer to Jesus, it becomes more natural to do good works, and that shows when you are in public.  I think that is what James meant when he said that, "Faith without good works is dead."  Good works aren't a stipulation for salvation; rather, they are a sign that you are saved.  Does that make sense?

Forever in Christ,
Tyler Henke 

Ode to an Old Friend

I wrote this poem just now, after returning from my grandparent's house.  It isn't Shakespeare; it doesn't rhyme.  But it comes from the heart, and I must let it be known that I love my little friend, and the memories that we share.

I remember well the joy

That I got from my old friend.

As a little girl, free of care

Swinging round and round.

I remember making Grandpa sick

With my circular motions 

That my faithful old friend 

Allowed me to make.

I remember him asking me 

Not to so round and round, 

But rather up and down.

He'd gladly swing us through the sky

On our little black friend.

I remember squealing with fright

As wasps flew at me furiously

Coming out of their temporary home

In my little black friend.

I remember making my cousin

Dizzy, when I spun the two of us

Round and round and round.

Then back around again.

I remember fighting with my brothers

For the right to ride on my little friend.

I remember consenting to push them

As I grudgingly gave them their turn.

I remember crying when my hair 

Got caught in the enduring blue ropes.

I remember the thrill of going to Gandma

And Grandpa's, to go play with my friend.

I remember spinning, waiting for dinner to be called.

I remember rushing through dinner, so that I 

Could go back out to my lonely friend,

Trying to be the first of six

To get back on him again.

I remember thinking about that little black friend

Held away from the ground by sturdy blue ropes.

As we grew, we found new ways to 

Fit four into the little hole.

Spreading out legs and standing.

But alas, everything must at one point 

Come to an end.  And I know that we have 

Been blessed with the joy of the tire swing.

The five eldest of us have outgrown our 

Little black friend.

I thought about asking for it to be taken down

But there is one grandchild yet

Who needs the faithful old swing.

And maybe, by the time she has

Outgrown it as well, there will be another

Little one to take the tradition 

Into the next generation.  

So I must plead, to whom it may concern,

Do not remove my friend.  Let him hang

For generations to come. 

So what had happened was...

Okay, so this one is just telling you about my day, because today was pretty awesome.   For starters, I got to sleep in for about five minutes (but, let me tell you, it felt like an hour).  Then I went to school.  Well, I left my violin on the bus, so I had to run back against the student traffic, and grab it.  Then I had to go put it in the auditorium and go to the library.  I got a new book, called The Faerie Path (recommended to me by Ultima Thule) by Frewin Jones.  After all this, I though I'd be late to class; and I made it with a minute to spare!
We watched Glory Road in U.S. History today... but the bell rang right before the game ended, so I don't know who won!! I still don't know how that movie ends. 
When we got to third period,  we were ready to leave for the concert festival for orchestra.  We got onto the bus and dedicated one seat to "junk," meaning our instruments.  The whole way to Ridgeway we spent singing and goofing off, and telling really bad jokes. 
We got to the concert, and we listened to some orchestras perform... they weren't all that good; I can honestly and unbiasedly say that I though Mt. Pisgah was the best out of the ones we saw.  They did really well for a twice-a-week class.  They were together and in tune.  They got superior ratings, and I am really proud of them =).
When we went, we thought we did horribly, but we got superior ratings, as well!  We got a two on the sight-reading, but I think that we did very well. 
When we got back to the school, there was about twenty minutes left in school.  There were ten pizzas waiting for us; there are 25 people in the orchestra.  You should have seen how fast those pizzas were going!!  Mr. Philips literally opened a pizza box and all the pizza was gone in under ten seconds.  Then he would go to another, and the same thing would happen.  Some people had eight pieces stacked one on top of the other!  It was really very comical - but now I am feeling the repercussions of eating three pieces of pizza in under ten minutes...  my bed sounds very inviting right now...
But I'm not going to bed yet!  I am babysitting two of the most AWESOME kids on the planet in a few hours, and I can't wait!!! I LOVE Joshua and Lizzie!!  They are so sweet, and SO adorable (though don't tell Joshua I said that...).  I have a pretty awesome day goin on, and it would take a lot to bring me down.  Thank you, Lord, for blessing this day for us.  I pray that you would do the same for others around the world.

Forever in Christ,

Tyler Henke

I have a beautiful little sister named Natalie.  Natalie is nine years old.

When I was little - right after I turned four, which was when I was blessed with a second baby brother - I remember praying every night from that time on, for a little sister.  "Dear God, thank you for Mommy, and Daddy, and Cooper, and Wesley, and help me to get a baby sister."  I prayed for a little sister, as I said, every single night.  Then, when Mom got pregnant with Natalie, I told her that if the baby wasn't a little sister, then I was moving out.  And I still prayed that the baby would be a sister.

When we were discussing names for a possible little girl, I even helped name her.  I wanted a sister that I could call "Nae-Nae," which was what I called a friend named Renee.  So, we named the baby Natalie Renee, so that I could call her Nae-Nae.

When she was born, we found out that she had Moebius Syndrome.  We had never heard of Moebius Syndrome, as not many people have.  It is a very rare congenital disorder (as in, 20 max cases per million births), also known as an orphan disorder, that occurs because the sixth and seventh cranial nerves didn't connect during embryo.  It is characterized mainly by a partial facial paralysis, which makes it difficult or impossible to do much with your face.  When Natalie was born, the doctors told my parents that she would not be able to eat, talk, laugh, blink, smile, or show any kind of emotion whatsoever.

Natalie was also born with crossed eyes.  She really only has one eye that functions, because she does not use the other.  How does someone not use an eye?  Well, Natalie cannot blink, and her eyelids cannot move on their own.  So she holds one eye open when she needs to see well (p.s., if Natalie ever challenges you to a staring contest - which she absolutely will - be warned that there is no way you can possibly win).

She has very poor balance, so when she walks, she kind of tilts when she moves her legs.

Despite all of this, Natalie is one of the most wonderful people I know.  She can do almost everything that the doctors had predicted that she would never be able to do - and she doesn't realize that she is different.  She loves who she is, and she loves her life.  She has overcome so many unfair advantages that she didn't know she didn't have.  Natalie lives a life devoid of care.  She hasn't allowed her physical disabilities to rule her life.  Many times, I often forget that she is even disabled.

I think that when people see Natalie, she sort of makes them forget that she is different.  We were at the park the other day, and a little girl walked up to Natalie and commented about her face.  Natalie truly didn't know what the little girl was talking about, so she ignored it.  After a few minutes, the two girls were playing Hide and Seek like they had always been friends.  No more was said about the way that Natalie looked. 
This is only one of the many times I have witnessed Natalie drawing people away from her face with her bubbly personality.  I believe that my sister is a rare little girl - she is definitely the sweetest little girl I know, and I pray that this sweetness continues with her through adulthood.

Natalie is the answer to a little girl's fervent prayers.  I cannot express my love for my little sister; nor can I express the gratitude that I feel every night when I think about her.  God works in strange and wonderful ways - Natalie is living, breathing proof of that.  There is not one thing that I would change about my little sister, even if I had the chance.  Natalie is wonderful just the way she is, and I will always count her among my role models.  I hope that one day, I can live with a love for life equivalent to that of my little sister's.

A Day on Daremo

There is a blog that I am following, called "A Day on Daremo", and Eldra, the blogger, is having a contest thingie..... She calls it a "giveaway", so that's what I will call it =D

So Eldra is a really talented writer.  If you click on her name, you can go to her blog.  Her sister, Leauphaun, is an AMAZING artist, who not only paints, but she sketches and is a wonderful photographer, as well!  Check out her Paintings, Drawings, and Photography.  You'll find that I am not exaggerating!  Check them out!! Follow them!!