Prompt #10 Would You Like to Know a Secret? The Problems of Spreading So-Called Secrets

The news was overtaken with the saga of Julian Assange and his website Wikileaks. Wikileaks is a website that makes public classified documents. Julian Assange has been in the business of hacking since he was a teenager. He was born and raised in Australia and has led an interesting life.

In 2006 he created Wikileaks with the intent to uncover secret documents. He believes that it is the public’s right to know what is in the documents. Because of this website he had won several journalism awards. It has mostly stayed under the radar until this past year.

In November of last year, Wikileaks decided to start releasing onto their website 251,000 American Government documents they had in their possession. Six percent of the documents were considered “Secret”. After that everything blew up. Australia considered this breach to be a criminal act and put out a warrant for Julian’s arrest.

Now the question is this right? Should there be no secrets at all? I believe that that would be disastrous. Some secrets are meant to be kept secret. But is shutting down wikileaks violating the right of free speech? I don’t think so. Secrets are secrets!!! What we do not know does not hurt us! I almost think we were better off before they let out those US documents.

Ultimately this is a question of integrity. Do you think its right? What if your personal life was laid out for everyone to see?

 

 

Prompt #9 A New Year; New Beginnings

I want this year to be the best year yet for me. I would like to end this school year on a high and accomplish all I need to way before graduation. I want to a friend to all the students here and be known as someone who will always listen to you. By the time graduation comes around I wish that I will be so attached to this place that I will never want to leave. (But we all have to leave sometime.)

I want to grow a lot in my walk with Jesus and never miss a devotion in the morning. I want Him to be the one for me, no one else.

At the end of 2011, I will have finished my 1st semester of college. I want to look back at this year as the best one ever where I helped people and made a difference in this world.

Heirlooms Prompt #7

Mom and Dad have given me and my sisters a lot of legacies throughout the years. Mom has engrained in my head how to be a perfectionist and to do a job right. Mom also was the one that nurtured my love for books and history. I am indebted to my mom for where I am at academically today. She was patience in teaching us. Homeschooling is not an easy job if you do it right. Dad taught me my love for computers and technical things. Dad was always the one to show me how to fix computer problems. He is one of the reasons I started running the PA system in church. And because of him I will take computer science when I get to college.

Stand Up and Speak Out! Prompt #8

The subject I would like to talk about is really touchy with some people. But I am going to talk about it anyways. There is a certain problem that I see here at Weimar and maybe (I am ashamed to say) I have participated in it. Whenever this school goes to other churches or schools for an occasion, I constantly hear Weimar students judging people. Like when we went to Pine Hill Academy last year, I heard some of our girls say that the Pine Hills girls do not like us. I thought, “Why not? Are they stuck up or something?” But then I found out why when I observed the Weimar kids against the Pine Hills kids. The Weimar kids were always judging the other kids by how they dressed or how they did their make-up. Since when does the outside really reveal the inside? Those kids might have been really nice kids but we did not let them in. Why is there a wall between us and other so called rival schools? There should not be! We need to quit judging other people just because they are not exactly like us. You do not know their hearts; they might be more spiritual than you! As Jesus said in Matthew 7:1 “Judge not that you be not judged.” It is not our place to judge or condemn people. We need to judge ourselves and see what is in our hearts that makes us want to judge others.

Prompt #3 Oh it was that easy?

For a couple of years before I came to Weimar for school I did my schoolwork on my laptop. I had had my laptop for about 6 months and I was enjoying learning different things about it. I would just explore the computer for the fun of it. Then one day the internet stopped working. I could not figure out why because I had just changed the wireless card a couple of weeks before. I hooked in a broadband wire but that did not work either. My dad also tried to figure it out but to no avail. So I was without internet for about a month.

Then one day I was playing a race game on my computer and while I was waiting for it to load a internet advertisement was trying to come up but an error code showed instead. The error code said that one of the reasons why it did not load might be because the firewall was up too high. It hit me like a ton of bricks! I remembered that right before the internet stopped working that my firewall updated itself. So I went and turned it down and the internet worked!! I felt so smart after that. Then an announcement from my firewall company came and said that there was a problem with the update and that it might interfere with the internet. I thought, “That came a little too late!”

Prompt #4 And The Smoke Accends Forever and Ever

I am just going to go out and say this, what this church is planning to do is wrong and “is of the devil” (to quote Pastor Jones). The International Burn a Koran Day is not a good idea. It is like trying to burn fire with fire. The Islam extremists may have crashed into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, but we should not respond with such extreme measures. To burn their Koran will infuriate them more and invite them to come back and do something much more extreme. The government needs to stop this church from doing this because of homeland security. If they are allowed to go through with this, it could very well endanger our troops over in the Middle East.

The picture that this Church is portraying about Christianity is that we are a revengeful people who want to force people to become Christians. Does this not sound like what the Catholic Church did? Christians should be a peaceful people that want to show the world what it means to be a Christian by our actions. The Dove Center has not upheld Bible truths and is leading many people astray. The reason for this is because of their misunderstanding of the Bible. They did not have the Holy Spirit leading them when studying the Bible. The Dove Church Members think they are standing for the truth but they are not because they do not have the Spirit of Jesus in them. May we as Adventists never fall this low.

Prompt #1 ARME Camp Experience

ARME Bible Camp at Leoni Meadows was a great spiritual retreat. All of us Weimar kids were able to have some fun the first couple of days we were there. We went swimming in the lake and then took a hike to the cascades. But on the first afternoon of ARME, vacation time was over. All of us were assigned different jobs; for example, some were greeters and baggage handlers. Others worked during the meetings like running the sound system, helping the camera crew, and giving the speaker a signal when his time was running short. Weimar Academy was definitely a major part of the work staff at ARME.

I was assigned to help work the sound system. I worked with the lights and the Powerpoint screen along with the microphones. Mario was also assigned with me and our supervisor often just left to let us do the sound system by ourselves. So we were in the main auditorium all day long listening to sermons and the workshops. All the speakers were very good but it did get tiring to stay seated pretty much all day. I think the ARME staff should allow more recreation time during future ARME camps.

I really learned a lot about how to study the Bible in different ways. My favorite speaker was Jeffery Rosario. He just has a way about him and his sermons that I like. Rosario is funny and knows his Bible. Then there was a prayer room that was always open that people could go in a come to God with their requests. I was able to go there twice and was really blessed.

All in all, ARME was a good experience and I would love to go to another one. People really need these ARME camps to learn how to effectively study the Bible. I hope that what I learned will stick with me for years.

Bottoms Up? Prompt #2

I totally disagree with this article. I think they are just focusing on the wrong aspect of health. I remember watching the National Geographic TV Special on longevity and they interviewed a group of people in Italy that were big drinkers of red wine and it seemed to lower their blood disease. But then they interviewed some Adventists and they live longer than most people because of diet choices and their faith in God. Which is the better choice? Take a gamble with alcohol and maybe injure or kill some because you were driving under the influence? Or surrender fully to God and have a healthy life AND eternity?

Prompt #27 Legacies

My parents have passed on many legacies to me and my sisters. Mom and Dad both came from different backgrounds but yet they still have the same ideals. They taught us how to work hard and to work for things instead of just being handed it. Mom is very responsible and though I had trouble learning it I am grateful for it now. Mom is very organized and cannot stand a mess. I am like that to a certain extent. Emily is more of a neat freak than I am. Dad has taught me how to aim high and how get through life’s troubles. He has taught me how to face them and that “this to shall pass”. I love both of them very much and hope that I will be just like them when I have kids.

Prompt #26 Rewrite!

I hope these are better!

Prompt #23 Weimar!!

Wow, what do I say? There’s the good and the bad. Should I stick with the positive or go with the negative? Well, since I am in a good mood I will stick with the positive.

I have enjoyed being at Weimar even though it has been a huge change for me. I am a small town girl with a big city background. I have been homeschooled all of my life until this year. I really appreciate the staff being understanding about my lack of knowledge in some places especially in Algebra II. (Thanks Mr. Boyd) Mrs. Greenfield has been a great friend and is always there when I need her. I have made friends that will last forever. I love my job at the cooking school and I love meeting the patients at NEWSTART. Everyone is friendly here, though some are not as polished as others. Anyways I thank all of the staff for their hard work for teaching us and putting up with us. I really do appreciate it!

Prompt #15 The Decade In Rewind

2000:

1. My family and I moved from the middle of Southern California to Covelo, the middle of no where on June 4. I was 8 years old.

2. I remember watching the 2000 election and watching George Bush win.

2001:

I was baptized  on June 9 in the Eel river.

On September 11, grandma called my mom and said “Our country is being attacked!!” Mom turned on the TV and we were practically glued to it all day.

Less than 2 months later we flew out east to Virginia to be with family for Thanksgiving.

2002:

We went back down to Southern California for a vacation in March for the first time since 2000.

I turned 10 that year.

2003:

My family went back to Virgina for my cousin Brandon’s  graduation at the last part of May.

Arnold Schwarzenegger became Governor of California.

We went down to Southern California for Thanksgiving.

2004

My family got horses that year. Dreamboy is a kiger mustang and Sugar is a quarter horse.

The summer Olympics were held.

2005:

We went back to Florida to another cousin’s graduation in May. We went to Orlando and Jacksonville. It was quite an experience.

I turned 13 years old.

2006:

My oldest cousin Audrey graduated from PUC.

I was able to start volunteering in the Redwood Campmeeting cafeteria in July. It was a really great experience.

Saddam Hussein was executed .

2007:

My cousin Alex graduated from high school in North Carolina.

We got another horse in January. His name was Henry and he was a quarter horse.

2008:

We decided to look for some more horses because Henry was too much to handle for my sister and I. So we found Emily a paint horse named Medicine Princess and I got one called Mandy. We sold Henry that summer.

I turned 16 years old and I got a Ipod Classic for my sweet sixteen.

We watched the election. Both my parents voted that year. But I guess it did not do any good since Obama won. Oh well.

2009:

I started learning how to drive my dad’s stick shift Subaru. Its been quite an experience! And I might have given my dad a few extra gray hairs.

We went to Tennessee for my cousin Brandi’s college graduation in May. Then we were back out there in October for my cousin Ashley’s wedding. And I got to fly by myself for the first time. It was very weird but I did okay.

Then in June my mom decided to send me to Weimar Academy. I was not so sure about it because I wanted to stay at home for another year. But because of some family issues I had to go. It has been pretty good so far.

Prompt #24 What is this problem really about?

My opinion on this debate about the Islamic School is that is is about religion, not land. Land may be part of it, but because there is such unpopularity against Muslims it is about religion. The media has played a part in us as Americans thinking that all Muslims are bad. I personally believe that Islam is a bad religion, but all Muslims are not bad. The extremists are the ones that we usually hear about but they fall under the category of all Muslims.

I would vote no. I vote that because if they expand, the school will become bigger and the influence would be wider. More people would be inclined to become Muslim instead of Christian.

People need to stop being prejudiced against people of strange or bad religions. Rather we need to show them a better way of life in Jesus, not Mohammad. This will solve the problem.