On Why I'm (NOT) in a Fandom

I've been asked the question many times. "Do you read/watch/listen to/like __________?" Most of the time, the answer is no.

-You all know I love (read: vehemently adore) reading, but I don't prefer to read many modern books or book series. 

-I criticize nearly EVERY SINGLE MOVIE that I watch. (I think everyone hates me for that!)

-My TV watching has been basically non-existent since I began my senior year. (And my criticizing is the same as with movies.)

-I listen almost exclusively to Christian music. (Musical theater is basically the only other genre I will listen to.)

This leaves me in the dilemma of being asked the "Do you like __________" question A LOT, and I don't have an answer. I'd rather someone asks me what I think about __________, because that's just the way I work. I think, rather than feel.

One time a girl asked me what "fandom" I was in. For those of you who don't know, a fandom is a group of people who follow (often to an obsessive extent) of a book series/TV show/movie/artist/actor that they watch/read/listen to. When I was asked this question, she had already asked me the "Do you like _______" question about five times. She wondered what people who didn't belong to a fandom did with their lives! (My answer: Schoolwork)

I stuttered for a minute and settled on the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which wasn't exactly true. I really enjoyed reading the book series, because I think that Tolkien's writing is an art form. I wouldn't ever consider myself obsessed with it though. I haven't even seen all of the movies, and I don't know that much about the trilogy. I began to worry that I didn't have a "fandom" I could truly belong to, so I searched for one.

I started watching the TV show "Sherlock" and tried to fit into the fandom stereotype. However, there were too many issues for me in the shows, including language and inappropriate dialogue. I then switched to an obsession with Frozen. You probably know that I LOVE that movie. I spent hours on Pinterest for both of these, reading Tumblr theories and watching funny gifs. The more time I spent on these obsessions, the emptier I felt. 

I decided that I didn't want to be in a fandom. It wasted my time and left me feeling empty. Worse, I was pretending to be somebody that I wasn't. I've never really fit in with girls my age, and I decided that I was okay with that. After all, Jesus never told us to fit in.

Here are the five main reasons I'm not a part of a fandom:

(PLEASE understand, I am not trying to target anyone or to tell them to not be in a fandom! I LOVE all of my readers and all of my Pinterest friends who post fandom-related material. This is just my personal, humble opinion on the material, not the people. You're always welcome to disagree with me!)

• In Exodus 20, (the Ten Commandments) God tells us to not make idols for ourselves. When I thought about the hours I spent on the computer, compared to the few minutes I spent every night reading God's Word and talking to him, I realized that I was putting him second in too many places in my life.

• Many of the TV shows/books/movies I love contain only earthly treasures. Jesus tells us that "moths and rust" can destroy those things, but I found that those treasures are often the moths and rust that invade and corrupt my mind and heart!

• I don't want to pretend to be someone I'm not. That's pretty self-explanatory. I know that I need to be me, and that's enough. By telling friends what/who I liked and trying to fit in with others, I was putting on a false impression and caused a lot of hurt for myself and others.

• 1 Corinthians 10:23 says, "All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify." I'm not saying being in a fandom is wrong, I'm saying that I don't need to be fulfilled by something of this world. 

• Many fangirls admire their favorite actor/singer from afar. Instead of wasting my time pining for someone I'll likely never meet, I can "waste my time well" on building a close relationship with the one true God, who loves me and knows my name! That's more than most fangirls could say of their favorite person!

Again, I love all of you who read my blog! This is just my opinion on an issue that I wanted to share about.

If any of this makes sense or changes your mind about the issue, maybe God's trying to get to you! Who knows? I know God let me make some bad decisions and I had to learn the hard way. 

If you agree or disagree on the subject, please leave a comment! Thanks for reading! See you next time!

-M. 

My EXTREMELY Random Post

Hi! I'm back!! apparently i was missed;)(*fake tear* it's great to be loved) I want to make you laugh (cause laughing is awesome) so here goes nothin'.........

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Hi guys! (And gals...my brain is telling me to be politically correct...whatever that means) its E here...finally...oops *innocent laugh. I would be all apologizing for not writing anything for the past month and a half...but I know you don't want to hear any lame excuses...sooo I will just continue;) 

    I'm sure I've confused you by now...not quite sure if I haven't succeeded in confusing myself yet..but then it is really easy to confuse me(I can hear you laughing)

    And there I go rambling. I decided to write an extremely random post...

....I guess this is it...

...or it's it?...*sinister music in background...*followed by evil laugh: mwahahahahaha!!..yo, peace out man...

Ok that got really random...continuing...

    I recently saw a sign on the side of the road that said: "don't look down on anyone, unless you do so only to pull them back up". It made me realize how often I tend to think of people I don't know, being 'lower' than me. That got me really thinking... Now when I go to stores or restaurants, I'm going to imagine that every one in the building, are secret agents, or undercover cops trying to protect people from a bad guy, or something along those lines....and (as I like to quote..) 'the possibilities are endless!' It also makes them be 'more important' as I like to say...because who am I? to judge who they are??

    ...ok I just reread over what I wrote..and is it just me or do i sound really selfish?... 

    Selfish-fish, fish-water, water-thirsty, thirsty-working, working-busy, busy-tired, tired..

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ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

*POP!!*

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  Hey! I'm awake!! 

    Sometime this week I was over at a store called 'Tuesday morning' and I bought this awesome clipboard, with paper to use for writing letters to people but I can't figure out who to write to...until now-no its not you- (ha! It always works like that..) 

    I hope I've made you laugh by now..:) if not this should:

Or this:

Or maybe this...

If that didn't work I don't know what will....

    Ok. I'm gonna say goodbye for now! 

'Goodbye for now' 

And have a great day! Don't forget to smile!! 

(Wow that sounds like something the dentist is supposed to say..)

-E

Drawing/wallpaper

    Well hello there! I've been trying to decide what drawing I should post next...hmmm...well I'll just put a random one on;)

There. This is one of my favorites! Because they're so cute:)

    Hmmm...now for a funny wallpaper....oh this'll work!

    Now that I think about it..I would probably just call the doctor!;)

    Bye!

 ~E

Writing Prompt #13 - The Day the Sky Changed

Hi Everyone! M. here to do another CWP. (I found it on Pinterest, of course!) I really want to post more than once a week, but we'll have to wait at least till graduation for that! Probably won't even happen then. But before we continue, here are three short letters to some dear friends of mine.

1. (Dear School, Stop being so time-consuming and stuff like that. I have things I want to do. Sincerely, M.)
2. (Dear E., please come back! we miss seeing your writing! Sincerely, M.) (back me up on this one, guys!)
3. (Dear me, you need to blog more often. You can do it! Sincerely, me.)

This is going to be a combination of two different prompts, because I like them both a lot.

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Text of the second prompt: "What if clouds and lakes switched spots, and every time you looked up, you'd see waves being pulled by the moon, and we'd wade through the clouds on a hot day."

Writing Prompt #13: Write about the day the sky changed color. The clouds and the water have also switched spots. 

I opened my eyes with alarm. Something was outside my window. I yawned and sat up in bed, pushing a few stray bangs out of my face. I lazily slid out of bed and smoothed the covers down, trying to focus my sight on the greenish haze outside my window. As I slid the curtains and shades back simultaneously, my world was turned upside down.

No, literally. Something was really wrong. The sky, it was no longer blue. Well, some of it was blue. The rest was varying shades of green, violet, orange, and pitch black. It looked like Jackson Pollock decided to paint the sky. And the clouds! They were certainly not clouds. They, in fact, were waves. The ocean, the water, it was in the sky. I had to be dreaming. I rushed to the family room to look out the back window and get a clearer view.

Here I saw the same kaleidoscopic atmosphere, though there seemed to be less waves. I shook my head and began to turn from the window, but before I did, I caught a glance of our backyard lake. It seemed to be an explosion of cotton candy sitting in the hollow where the water used to be. "Incredible," I muttered, "They must have switched spots."

If you knew me, you'd probably know that I have an obsession for the sky. Clouds, rain, stars, it always felt like a love letter from God to me. Different patterns every day, always a new painting of the world's ceiling. The stars were rare when we used to live in the West, but now that we lived out in the country, I could glimpse a little of the deep heavens every night. Now I knew I had a chance, even for a minute, to go do the one thing I'd always dreamed. The possible danger didn't matter. I could touch the clouds.

I quietly opened the back door and slipped outside. It seemed that the rest of the house was sleeping, or dead, but outside, the world was very alive.The wind, very strong, blew my tousled hair back and threatened to pick me up off the ground. I noticed that the water in the multicolored sky was pulsing down towards the earth and crashing over the crests before heading back up to the flat surface. What happened to the law of gravity? I wondered. I approached the hollow that used to be our lake and stopped. I took a deep breath, then I walked into the clouds.

The top layer was like a mist, surprisingly warm as it dotted against my legs. The rest could best be described as a powerful, gentle moisture.   It was thick and moved as I waded through, swirling in little circles, yet it also was soft, so unbelievably soft, that you almost felt nothing. You couldn't float like in water, but if it covered your head you would start sneezing from breathing it in. I remembered a friend once describing God's voice "like a powerful, gentle wind." This must have been like a hug from God, rather than his voice. I moved slowly back to the side of the lake, finally resting on the side.

I doodled in the clouds with my finger as I stared at the sky, all of its brilliant hues shining through the waves. The inky black parts were mysterious, and I wondered if they could be doorways to another world. The green shades were vibrant, and I could imagine grass just growing from the sky. The purple near the horizon was majestic, reminding me of satin and the best kinds of friendships. The fiery orange and the blues were the closest shades to a familiar sky, yet even they were different. I breathed in deeply and closed my eyes. "It's so beautiful, God."

I bolted up and opened my eyes. the temperature had changed, my clothes no longer soaked. I was laying in my bed and, judging from the state of the nightstand, it wasn't the same day. I tried to ask my mom what time it was as she came over to the bed. She put her hand on my forehead, and sighed in relief. "Finally, your fever's broken. You've been awfully sick for the past few days." I shook my head in disbelief. "We found you by the lake a few mornings ago and you were mumbling about swimming in the clouds and the sky being green! Crazy, right?"

"Right," I furrowed my brow and wondered what on earth was going on.

"Thank the Lord you didn't fall into the lake. You hungry?" Mom asked.

"Starving." I grinned. As we walked to the kitchen, I began to realize what had happened. I thought again about the powerful, gentle moisture of the clouds. That had been real. I just knew it had. I shrugged. It must have been one of God's ingenuous ways to tell me that he loves me. What better way to find me, than through the clouds? I've gotta blog about this sometime,  I thought, and smiled. It really fits that idea of the simplex.

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Hope you liked it! See you next time!

-M.

PS I know, I almost always write my posts from first person, and they're always a girl's point of view. I haven't learned how to write well any other way. Someday I will be bold and write differently. Well, maybe. No promises.

On God's Face and Abraham's Faith

Disclaimer: deep theological thoughts may be contained in this post and may be too awesome for sleep-deprived or shallow minds. Proceed with caution.

Hi all! M. here. I wanted to share with you another simplex story from my life that happened this Sunday. Be warned; this account is long and requires a lot of thinking...

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At family class, (a Sunday School class for the entire family to attend) a guest teacher came to teach. We focused on the concept of saving God's "face." Think of it as God's reputation among the people of the earth. 

One of the verses talked about was Genesis 22:18. This verse is God talking to Abraham, and He says, "and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me." 

God makes a promise to Abraham. That's a pretty big promise. ALL nations on earth will be blessed. God never breaks a promise, does he? So where is the fulfillment to this promise? Was it through the Law? No, the law was only given to the Jews. It was to be used as a measuring stick, to show the Israelites where they fell short of God's standards. If you were not a Jew, you were not under the Laws given to Moses. You were outside of the special blessing of God. It was possible to gain Jewish citizenship, but it was not easy.

The fulfillment of God's promise comes by Jesus. Why did Jesus die? "To save the world from sin." That's definitely a big part of it, but is it the primary reason for the crucifixion? 

In John 12, verses 27-28, we read the words of Jesus, “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” (for more context of this passage, go here. It's worth reading.)

That sentence in the middle of the verse gives us a glimpse of the true purpose of Christ coming to earth. God promised Abraham that he would bless the whole earth. Christ comes to bring salvation to all. He fulfills the promise and, in essence, saves God's "face" or reputation as the God who keeps His promises.

Make sense to any of you? I assure you, the words I use aren't adequate enough to really show you the weight of this idea. God's glory was Jesus's main purpose!

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After family class, while I was still mulling over these new ideas, we still had big church. (Everyone calls it that; it's so funny. I'm not sure why.) Our passage was Romans 4:1-12. I highly suggest you go and read it here, but the main idea of the passage is this:

Abraham wasn't justified by works. He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. David also was credited with righteousness apart from works. Faith, and the resulting blessing, isn't just for the Jews though. Abraham became "righteous" in God's eyes before the law even came around. It's not our works, the law we follow, or anything we do. It's faith in God.

Here's a few of my notes from the sermon: (which, as you may begin to see, was very connected with the previous lesson)

Debt paid and more added: When Christ died, he paid the debt over our sins. Think of an account in which you have a debt of a million dollars. When Jesus died, he put 2 million dollars in the account. Some covers the debt and the overflow is his righteousness, credited to us.

Now we are all heirs: You are a son, or a daughter of God... Are you proud of it? We are heirs of the promise given to Abraham - "I will bless ALL of the families of the earth through you."It doesn't have to do with our race. Jesus was the fulfillment of the promise God gave and also opened this faith to everyone.

Conflicting passages? In James 2, Abraham was said to be justified by works. He was justified by the work of offering his son on the altar... but Isaac is the promise that Abraham believed in. His faith was justified, or shown to be true. He fully trusted and as a result, obeyed because he believed.

How Sin was dealt with: David was well known for his sin. His sins were buried, or covered, until the Messiah came and took all sin away. God forgave both Abraham and David for their sins.

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This was a really long post with a lot of ramblings, but I hope you may have learned something. The simple story is that I learned something new at church. But the big picture is this: Abraham had faith, and obeyed as a result, and God blessed him and promised to bless all the nations as a result, and Jesus came as the fulfillment of that promise, and God was glorified through it all.

The point is you can stop trying so hard! God in his love, sent his son to fully pay the debt of our sin and left a deposit of his righteousness, so that we can show the world the grace and live of our Father. The rest of the work is up to him. When we are open to truth, God will show it to us. It's not about doing something for your salvation, it's about believing, and saving God's face, always giving Him glory.

See you all next time! As always, thanks for reading!
-M.