So, this week has been interesting so far. I already told you all that I'm giving up pokémon, but now... maybe it's just me being weak, but I sort of want to go back to it. The problem was I got too obsessed with it- it became addicting and too much of a priority. Could I still play it and work harder on putting it in its place? Or, should I stand firm to the conviction I think God gave me this Sunday? Man, I'm asking the Internet for justification. Forget I asked. It's between me and God.

Other than that, I have returned to piano lessons, only with a different teacher. I like her better so far! Instead of going along with a curriculum from a book, she lets me choose the pieces that I like which she thinks I can do with only a little bit of challenge, and she'll teach me what she thinks I need. I'm again remembering my love of music.

Last night, I went to a junior high football game with some other seniors from my church. A guy in our youth group was on the team, so we went to cheer him on. My alma mater -if you can call a junior high that- won, and it was pretty cool and fun. On the way home, I dropped someone off, out of the way. I got out my phone for GPS, and accidentally changed one number in my street address, and it took me somewhere I didn't recognize AT ALL. It was frustrating, and kind of scary. I got home, though.

Then, today. It was average, as days go- except I missed See You at the Pole due to my early class- until my last class. I had finished my work early, and had decided to rest my head on my desk, since I didn't have any other work or a book I wanted to read. Next thing I knew, my teacher was shaking me awake after the bell had rung. She asked me if I was on medication! Embarrassing.

Anyway, tonight is church, and a special night at that, so I am excited! Ttyl!

I Was a Pokémon Addict

It's true. Late last school year, I played my first Pokémon game, Alpha Sapphire. I became enchanted, and also got X. I've become the champion of both the Kalos region and Hoenn. It was great!

This morning, in service, my church observed the Lord's Supper. For those of you who don't know, it's where we take the bread and the cup to symbolize the last supper Christ had before He was betrayed, and the sacrifice He made for us. You are encouraged to self-reflect before taking it. If you aren't saved, you shouldn't take it. If you are saved, but have unconfessed sin, you should clear that up with God before you take it.

I was doing this self reflection, thinking if there were anything I needed to get off my chest. Pokémon came to mind, as it has many times when the subject of giving things up for God has come up. I've been working out whether or not it's ok for me to play it, and I've tried justifying it before, but, this morning, I gave up. I realized that, good or bad, it had become too addicting to me. I was obsessed with being the best, and finishing the game, that I put it before almost everything, and let it take up too much of my thoughts.

I prayed, and I just let pokémon go. Now, as I write this, I feel free, but I also feel sad. The games make your team feel like family. It's part of its pull, and it was hard to erase the save data and any evidence of my journeys. But, it's good that I'm letting it go. Please pray for strength for me?

Football

Even though I am in no way an avid sports fan, I can easily get into a game when I choose to. It can be fun to get excited over things like touchdowns, good and bad plays, and unfair calls from refs. I don't go to many games, but I regularly go to my school's rivalry games.

There are two other high schools in our district, and we have a rivalry game with each of them every year. Last week, we had our first rivalry game with the original high school of our district. We won, for the fifteenth year in a row, but unlike most times, it wasn't a blow out. They kept us on our toes!

Tonight is our other rivalry game, with the newest high school in the district. This school has always been competitive with us, so it's more of a game, and we never know who might win. I can't remember how many times we've won... Anyway, this being my senior year, I want us to win!

Unfortunately, I may not be there to see it. I bought my ticket yesterday, and put it in one of the pockets of my backpack. This morning, I was going to take it out to make sure I still had it, and it was gone. All the pockets of my backpack were sans ticket! Even if they were still selling tickets on campus today, I doubt they'd issue me a replacement. I just hope that it just fell out at home, and Mutt will find it. If he does, in exchange, I'll give him the play by play.

Cross your fingers, everybody!

Aand we're back to doing nothing in my computer class. My teacher's computer had been fixed, so we should have been good to go this week, but it broke down again. Oh, well.

I've, as usual, taken the time to write. I know I should be working on more original things, but stuff like fan fiction is easier and sometimes more fun to write. Like, right now, I am working on a pokémon fan fiction. The trainers from both games I own, X and Alpha Sapphire, meet up and adventure together. The main conflict is over how a splinter group Team Aqua is after the trainer from AS to get Kyogre, so she ran away to Kalos to stay with her cousin, my trainer from X.

It's supposed to be a continuation of another fan fiction I started but still have yet to finish. I like writing pokémon, because I love it in general, but feel guilty doing so when writing is supposed to be what keeps me focused on things other than pokémon, so it doesn't become the only thing I ever think about. But, it's hard to write other things, when I rarely have a good original idea, and when it's more fun to stay in the world of pokémon, and my trainers, Christina and Lane.

Hopefully, today's prompt in Creative Writing class will get my mind off pokémon. I mean, there's nothing wrong with pokémon, per se, but it shouldn't be the only thing on my mind at any given moment. I swear, if I didn't force myself to write, and hadn't given back my borrowed copy of AS -which, ironically, I have back now for keeps- I'd have played pokémon non-stop all summer. Granted, if I did that, I'd already be the champion of Kalos, but for now, I'm taking it slow with X, until I get more into writing.

Not that I don't enjoy writing. I can't believe I forgot how much I liked it! If I ever stop for such a long time again, you all have the right to send me a long-distance virtual slap. Multiple times.

Anyway, gonna go. Byes!

Labor Day

Happy Labor Day, everyone! Hope you've enjoyed sleeping in, and will continue to relax and have a nice, fun day.

Labor Day is a long weekend for most people, but it's even longer for me. Other schools would go back tomorrow, but my district has an in-service day, so I get one more day to have fun and rock out! I plan on working on this story I've just started, and maybe watching a couple movies. And, of course, sleeping in... I may just do more of that after this post. Hehe :)

What is the history of Labor Day, anyway? I know it has to do with labor unions or something, but I've never heard all the details. Is my brother right, and it was made a holiday by FDR after WWII? I really don't know. I'm probably with the majority on that, but I still feel like I should know.

Well, I really can't think of anything else... happy Labor Day!

Christianity IS Slavery

Before you look at the title and have me committed or ex-communicated, hear me out.

A few years ago, I posted my thoughts on a screen name, "IAmNotaSlavetoaGodWhoDoesn'tExist." My view has changed on it since then, as you can already tell. Christianity is slavery, in a sense.

It's not slavery as we know it from pre-Civil War, where humans were treated as property and forced to work their master's home with little or nothing in return. In Old Testament times, slavery was more of a servanthood. A man or woman would offer himself to a master to work so he or she could receive money to send to their family. In law like Leviticus, God commanded that these slaves be treated well, and offered freedom after a set amount of time.

Christians are these types of slaves to God. We offer ourselves to Him humbly, and are given love, mercy, grace, and everlasting life in return. It is fully our choice to come to Him, and we are duty bound to spread His word of hope and forgiveness across the world. That's what it means to be a slave to God, to follow His word and get so much in return, never being turned away when we fall short. Sure, we are disciplined when we fall short, but never more than we can handle, and it's because He loves us and wants the best for us. A slave driver of the other connotation has no love.

Do you see the difference, now? I hope this makes sense, and gives you a better view of our God.

Writing

I have a hard time writing very often. I enjoy it, and want to get better at it so I can be one of the greats some day, but it's hard. Sometimes, I can't decide what my character is like, and how to portray that in one story without huge descriptions that bore people to tears. I have big events planned out in my head, but the smaller ones in between are hard to write, what with smooth transitions, especially to the big scenes. I rarely come up with original ideas, at least that's what I think. One of my biggest fears is that I'll write something similar to a really popular story I've read, not realizing what I've done until I get called out on it.

Since I've gotten out of writing as of late, I've been trying to do it more, but sometimes other things interest me more. Video games often seem more fun, with their stories and colorful characters. I don't have to do anything besides go along with it. Unfortunately, that means I'm not being productive, and little to no writing gets done in a day I get sucked into something like Pokémon.

I like writing, I really do- I love seeing words from my head appear in front of me. I love knowing that I'm good at something creative, something people like. But,  how do I fight the overwhelming urge to be the consumer instead of the creator?

Can anyone sympathize with me here? Any advice?