It's the Little Things

Hi readers! M. here; it's been WAY too long since I've posted. Apologies, guys! I've been branching out into other types of writing lately, like spoken word poetry and songwriting (!) but I'm back now with a Simplex story for you today!! (Just a forewarning: it was really awesome.)

By the way, how are you liking L's writing? I'm so excited that she gets to blog with us!

The story kind of begins on Friday night a few weeks ago. I spent the night at a friend's house and we stayed up till 4 in the morning, which was super exhausting but so much fun! We got up around 8:30 that morning and my friends introduced me to a TV show called "Once Upon a Time." I'd never seen it before, but I did enjoy the first two episodes.

While I was watching the show, I checked my email and I'd gotten two pins from L! They were super encouraging and I knew that today would be a good day.

I got home a little before lunchtime and went to get our 15-month old up from his nap. He wasn't feeling too well and had a runny nose, so I sat down on the couch and got to snuggle with him. Now, this child is not a snuggler; he's always up and running around, so I was really suprised that he sat there with me for several minutes! It definitely put a smile on my face.

At 2:00, I went to a lady's house to discuss a weekly childcare job for her kids. I got to meet them and they were so friendly! I was so excited to start working for them next week!

When I got home again, I had a great conversation with my mom about college stuff and got to snuggle with the baby AGAIN!! By this point, I'd started to notice that God was "up to something."

Other things that happened on that Saturday:

The sky outside was GORGEOUS!!
I got compliments on the shirt I was wearing twice in one day!! 
I was able to read several chapters of "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis, which I love!
I got to babysit a family from our church in the evening... 
When I drove home after watching the kids, I heard not one or two, but SIX songs on the radio in a row that encouraged me, blessed me, challenged me, and shifted my focus to Christ!! 
And I had to do dishes and shower when I got home, but I still got to bed before midnight!!!


By halfway through the day, I was starting to catch onto God's scheme. It was like he dumped a bucket of love on me, like never before. it was a day of lots of little things, but they sure counted!!

Lately, I've been using the phrase, "God chose." I've stopped asking God, "Why did you do this bad thing to me?" or "Why did you give me a bad day?" because I know the answer is always, "Because I did!" God doesn't need a reason for doing things in my life; he created me! And as a Christian, I gave Him control of my life, so questioning His motives is, honestly, really counterproductive!

I'm thankful. It really is the little things that make me feel blessed to be alive.

Thanks for reading! And I love hearing from you guys! Comment below!
Until next time! -M.

50 POSTS!!!

50TH POST AUTHOR INTERVIEW-CELEBRATION-COOL-THINGY

(translation: I (M.) couldn't come up with a good title for the 50th post. You'd think we have this down by now, but noooo.....)

ACTION KEY:
(A word in this color means this author is speaking, acting, or being described)

M: purple

L: green

E: blue

M: Simplex is now a real word! I'm pleased to announce that "Simplex" has been officially added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary... Not really! We're not that famous. (and we probably never will be!)

L: BUT WE'RE AWESOME!!!

E: And so is the LEGO Movie!! (Breaks into song and dance) "Everything is awesoooome..... Everything is cool when you're part of a team!!"

M: (stares at E. with slight concern)

L: (begins to laugh hysterically)

M: And so begins our interview... and impending demise.

QUESTION 1: TELL US SOMETHING INTERESTING ABOUT ONE OF YOUR FELLOW AUTHORS.

E. M enjoys using parentheses in weird and crazy ways... (M ponders the opportunity(but doesn't do anything about it(or does she???)))

L: and E. never gets enough sleep! (E. yawns)

M: and L is secretly a pop star! (L breaks out in loud song)

QUESTION 2: DESCRIBE THE OTHER GIRLS IN ONE WORD.

M: L is pondering and E is Engaging.
E: M is a rainbow and L is twirly!

L: E. is Random and M. is thoughtful.

M: We make a make a good mix!

QUESTION 3: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTERISTIC OF GOD?

L: The fact that He knows us perfectly and still loves us perfectly!

M: The way He has a perfect plan for everything; how His story is woven through all aspects of our lives!

E. HIS SENSE OF HUMOR!!

QUESTION 4: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING TO POST ON THE BLOG?

M: I like writing about Simplexities or something creative, fun, and engaging.

L: Well, I haven't posted much yet but I enjoy writing stories!

E: I enjoy posting my drawings and funny wallpapers.

M: For example, the picture to the right was drawn by E. during the early stages of the interview, in 5 minutes, on a simple dry-erase board. THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is called talent!!

QUESTION 5: WHO DO YOU LOOK UP TO?

L: Simon Peter. He messed up pretty bad, but Jesus forgave him and he did some pretty bold stuff for the gospel.

E: Donald Duck. No further questions.

M: Well, most of my friends are taller than me. My neck gets sore sometimes.

QUESTION 6: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BLOG POST UP TILL NOW?

E: Creative Writing Prompt #6 or #15.

L: "A Lot can change in Two Weeks."

M: Creative Writing Prompt #13. (but now, probably this 50th post!!)

(Pause of awkward silence, but only for a moment...)

E: Moo, I'm a cow, and you can't do anything about it!!

M: Wow, ok....

E: MOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

L: I like M.'s responses to E.

M: It's getting late, can you tell?

L: In other words, I love you both.

M: AWWWWW!!

E: .......moo?.......

CAN WE GET TO THE LAST QUESTION BEFORE YOU THREE GO INSANE?

M: Too late! 

E: (rises and begins to walk around the room like a penguin)

M: (sighs dramatically) We are all insane already.

E: Moo.

L: (Laughs at everyone in the most loving way possible)

THE LAST QUESTION: (FOR THIS INTERVIEW, ANYWAYS)

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE, SAGE WORDS, WISE WORDS, HUMOROUS WORDS, WORDS OF QUESTIONABLE INTENT, OR OTHER WORDS YOU WISH TO IMPART TO THE READING AUDIENCE?

L: Jesus loves you!!! M. and E. are awesome! And eat more Pizza.

E: Don't get brain freezes reading the blog. And doughnuts are good.

M: Paperclips. 'Nuff said.

Sore Feet and a Cloudy Sky

Hi readers! M. here with a simplex story of my weekend.

WHAT HAPPENED:
1. My feet got sore, and 2. It rained. Fairly simple weekend. Sounds boring, you say. (Yawn) So why on earth am I blogging about such a dull weekend?? (Haha, silly question. That's what ALL bloggers do!)

I had a few realizations about my sore feet and the rain. I felt inspired, and I learned a few somethings about God and myself from them.

That's the simple story. Here's the rest.

On Friday and Saturday I attended a homeschool convention. For a few hours during the weekend, I ran the exhibit hall, serving the vendors in small ways. (getting water, coffee, etc.) I forgot to get some comfortable shoes before the weekend and had to borrow my mom's shoes, which didn't fit quite right. Hence, sore feet! Not very interesting, you say? Well, it isn't. The thoughts I had on the way home, however, were.

I was thinking about thankfulness. I want to be a grateful person, and I try to thank God for His blessings each day. I wondered how I could be thankful for sore feet, but soon realized that I was thankful.

I was thankful because the fact that I had sore feet meant I could walk.
I was thankful because the fact that I had sore feet meant I could walk and had shoes to walk in.
I was thankful because the fact that I had sore feet meant I could walk, had shoes to walk in and had the convention to walk around at.
I was thankful because the fact that I had sore feet meant I could walk, had shoes to walk in, had the convention to walk around at, AND the freedom to walk around in this homeschool convention in America.
I was thankful because the fact that I had sore feet meant I had feet!! Get the picture? It wasn't that I was necessarily thankful for the soreness of my feet, but rather the reasons my feet were sore and the blessings I had in spite of this annoyance.

Simplexity #1 - check. Let's move on to the second event of the weekend.

RAIN.

Like I've mentioned before (repeatedly and perhaps to an annoying extent) I really love rain. It always reminds me of God's love for me. I collect my "rain stories" and store them in my memory for, well, other rainy days. Or late nights. Or blogs like this. (Stop rolling your eyes!)

A few stories:

When I was about 9 or 10, my family and I were on a road trip. It was late at night, and I had finally thought that I had picked out the big dipper. Without warning the car was in the midst of a torrent for no longer than two minutes, but it stopped, also with no warning. My mom remarked that it felt like a bucket had dumped tons of water on our car, then ran out just as fast as it poured.

I remember when winter rain came once, my brother and I put on our heavy snow coats and jumped on the trampoline in the rain.

There was one time when it started pouring in the middle of class. A few minutes later, our teacher let us out on break, but the rain had stopped and the sun shone vivid through the clouds. The crystal reflections on the walls and pavement flashed brightly.

At a mission trip meeting, the first of our summer storms hit. We finished before the downpour did and went outside to party. Let's just say over 80% of the group left for home soaked.

Two of my favorites happened at camp.

1. We were at Bible lesson time, in a tin-roofed building. A pile of hundreds of muddy shoes sat near the door, and as a Dad in the group taught, the rains came. The sound was deafening, words no longer discernible. I thought it was beautiful.

2. Last August. We were about to begin a team-building exercise when the skies opened. Of course we HAD to be doing the rock-climbing activity right at that point! The rain stopped a few minutes later, but everyone and everything was wet and slippery. We finished team-building and headed back to camp about a 1/4 mile away, but the storm was far from over!! No one got back to the cabins with even an inch of dry clothing. I loved every minute.

Sorry for the memory dump. Anyway, back to this Sunday's simplex rain.

It was different. I had fallen asleep in the afternoon due to my exhaustion from the weekend. I woke to the sound of the skies screaming. Normally I delight in those moments, but this rain, this torrent was angry. It was sad. I was usually overjoyed for summer showers, but when I heard this one, I knew something peculiar existed within the deluge. I still don't really understand why this rain made me feel bitter, for a storm has never done that before.

The simplex thing about it was that I had a chance to open up my rain-memory book and tell myself the joyful stories again, the ones above along with others.  The peaceful recollections brought a sense of acceptance. This rain reminded me of the song "How He Loves," in which the lyrics say this:

"He is jealous for me

loves like a hurricane, I am a tree

bending beneath 

the weight of his wind and mercy."

God's creativity astounds me, reminding me that I've had hundreds of rain stories to collect and yet none are alike! AND I could be thankful about the rain too, the way I learned this weekend!! I don't think I've even learned the whole lesson yet, but these little thoughts were definitely part of it.

Thanks for reading, as always! I hope you enjoyed my attempt at making my weekend sound interesting. :) See you next time!
-M.

The New Look and Other News

Hi Everyone!!!

How do ya like the *new* look??? I wanted something a little more fun for summer!!! 

In other news, it's L's birthday!!!! Well, it was last Friday. ;) (happy dance)

In other news....

Well, it's been a bit crazy 'round here. (My house, that is) We had lots of juggling with new foster babies and car trouble and my brothers' guinea pig died, too. :/ And that all happened in the last two days!!

One of the books I've been studying lately is Galatians. It's been cool to dig deeper into the first chapter. It talks about Paul's warning to the churches of Galatia about false teachers. He then goes on to share his testimony of his conversion and some of his missionary journeys. It's a pretty cool chapter, and I can't wait to get into the rest of the book!

Worldview was also awesome!! I staffed for a week in June and had an amazing time! I was so grateful to see friendships form and hear great conversations throughout the week. 

Last week I volunteered for our church's VBS program and it was such a blast!! My brother, my friend and I acted in the drama and got to walk around the campus in character afterward. I played the "bad guy" and had a great time with it! My character did come to a conversion experience on the last day, which got me thinking about the simplexity of it all!!!

Oh, and another cool thing! I was on the road the other day and I saw a truck with the word "Simplex" on the back!!!!! It was probably talking about that really complicated science term that pops up when you google it, but it still made my day!

There you have it, my completely random post for today. ;) I'm in a random mood today anyway.

See you next time!

-M.

Another point of view

Hey All!
 L. here. This is a really long one again. After reading M.'s post about the last 2 weeks of May I want to share about  them from my point of view, as well. I'll be starting on Wednesday the 21st:

My oldest brother came home for a one week visit, arriving at the airport around 10am. I also went to my last Spanish class of the school year.

Thursday May 22nd
 I went to see Disney's Million Dollar Arm with my family  in the morning And had a great afternoon with M. and E. Then my brother picked me up from M.'s house on  the way to dinner with some other friends.

Friday May 23rd
 My sister graduated with M. so I went to the same ceremony and party that night and really appreciated getting to spend time talking and dancing with the people there.

Saturday May 24th
 This day was crazy! I got to sleep in until about 10am before going to one graduation party and helping with preparations for and a party shared by M. and my sister. During the party I chatted with friends, ate snacks, and  helped take photo booth pictures and gather and guide people for boat rides. Over all it was an enjoyable but hectic party. When it was over I went with M. and a few of her siblings to another grad party for a mutual friend of ours while my brother's collage graduation open house started back at the club house. It was a nice chance to relax for a bit and enjoy some smore's.
I got back in time to help with some clean up from my brother's party. Thanks to everyone who helped by the way! It would have taken forever with out you.
Anyway that's enough about Saturday.

Sunday May 25th
This was my official rest day between Graduation and Camp though it was still pretty busy. We missed Church:( cause we were all so tired after the graduation parties but we went to two more that afternoon then had a few friends over for dinner. That may sound crazy but I actually thought it was rather relaxing.

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Camp week

This was a 5 day 10:00-7:30 Christian Music and Dance Camp that was truly different from any other. Our director put together the theme "Masquerade" for our concert and devotionals. You'll learn more about it as you read.

 Monday, May 26th

We excitedly greeted old friends, met new ones, heard from our director and did an ice breaker. Then we stretched and learned some basic ballet and Jazz steps. We learned some of our choreography and music for the concert and had a devotional in the evening where we learned about different kinds of masks and I realized what kind I wear the most. 

Tuesday, May 27th
I remember feeling stressed and empty. I wanted God to work in a big way at camp and I was afraid He wasn't going to.  I love to dance and its been a really cool form of worship for me but on Tuesday morning when we were told to try dancing during our worship time I didn't want to. For once I didn't feel an urge to dance like I normally did and for another our director had said to keep our eyes closed so that no one would be embarrassed so I was afraid of hitting or kicking someone if I moved too much. After an improve dance lesson later on though some of us danced freely around to our songs for the concert while our instructors prepared for our next session. For one moment as I spun in circles to "Oceans" by Hillsong United I thought I felt God for the first time in a while; just for a moment; then I let it go.

Wednesday, May 28th
Because most of you were probably there or have read M.'s other posts about it I'm going to focus on my perspective of the Cross time. When Eden told us to pray about and then give to God whatever we needed to I didn't know what that would be for me. As I started praying I thought I had an idea but then it became clear. It was the root of my masks that I needed to give up. My desire to be the one everyone could depend on; the one who was friendly and likable and always knew what to do. I was actually excited to give this up. I thought I was ready to let God take the lead and just be His. I knew He could use that surrender in big ways and I finally thought I knew how to let go. 
  So I went up to one of the alter, "gave it to Him" and went back to my seat. I must admit I felt awkward waiting there. Some girls like me had been ready quickly and gone up to the alters, others were talking through things with each other or our instructors, and a lot of girls were crying.  One of them was M. sitting two seats away from me. I could see how much it hurt her to think of giving up her mask as she held her beautiful prop mask in her hand and I could almost see desperation in her eyes. I wanted to do something but I was afraid she wouldn't want my help. I wanted to show I cared but thought giving her some space might be the best way to do that. Our Music director went up again and told the girls who had already been to the alters to pray with each other that this wouldn't just be a "spiritual high"  but that we would continue to leave the things we had given up in God's hands. I prayed with a good friend of mine who sat farther down the row and had also noticed M.'s tears so we prayed for each other and M. then went back to our seats again.

 Thursday, May 29th
 Was an exhausting tec day where we also learned one more song! You can read more about it in M.'s posts.

Friday, May 30th- Concert Day :D
Not what I expected. We Practiced, watched Skit Guys videos, messed up our hair and put on our ripped  jeans and black T-shirts. If you want an idea of what our hair looked like, the 8ish year old boys in the other Choir said we looked like we had just gotten out of prison or been through a fire.
After our pre-show meeting we went out to the lobby to greet people and open doors. I think everyone was a bit taken aback by our hair and jeans but It was nice not having to worry if they were pretty enough because they weren't supposed to be.
As we waited backstage I danced my nerves out and tried to comfort other nervous girls that even if we messed up it would be okay and God could use even our mistakes for His glory. We got to see that first hand.
I was the one who couldn't find my mask when it was time to go on stage but my dance partner for the first song grabbed an extra for me and we made it to our places just a little late. I tried to use the mishaps and even my feeling about them to our advantage and I knew that God had let them happen and was going to use them for his glory. But then our director stopped us in the middle of the first act. She confessed that we'd had more then a few technical problems and she wanted to check on us and give us a quick breather. I was a little annoyed but we went on and my singing became more and more truly from my heart. The last song in the first act was Power of the Cross by Natalie Grant and as we went through the song girls hung there masks on the cross and went back stage. Because I had the ending solo I was the last to leave the stage so I sang these customized lyrics out to myself as I prepared to get the ugly mask off my face.

That's he Power of the Cross; see the Fear fall

That's the Power of the Cross; see the Shame fall

That's the Power of the Cross; see the Hate  fall

That's the Power of the Cross; see the Greed fall

Then I took the mask off revealing the tears that were streaming down my face and sang to the audience with a sort of peaceful joy.

See the grace

 your Masks fall

I half walked, half bolted down the center aisle and around to back stage where I broke down and hugged a friend as i shock with tears. A few other girls gathered around us for a sort of group hug and M. prayed for us. I felt a mixture of shattering disappointment and overwhelming relief. I was done trying to do my best and trying to put my mask back on now would just look silly. Everyone backstage and in the audience knew I was a mess. During the second act I was real and free to worship God for what He had done and was doing that night. It was amazing how well the story in our performance fit so well with what God was really doing in my heart. At one point before I went on in a small group for one of the songs one of the girls said "we've got this" in an effort to encourage us.  "He got this" I said pointing up. If there was one thing this concert thought me it was that. We didn't have it but God did. I got to share some of this in a testimony time at the end of the concert so I hope God uses it in the lives of those who heard it there as well as those who read this post.
Thanks for reading!

-L.