The Social Porcupine

Only a few years ago I had made a name for myself as "the girl who didn't keep Christmas" or "the girl who liked arguing about Christmas".  For that reason, I have been putting this post off for a long time, despite having promised several people that I planned to write it and having those same people ask me, "When are you going to write it?" I hate this subject so much. It's not that I hate Christmas, or even wish that the entire world would stop celebrating. I could care less. But there are many bitter memories wrapped into my confession of non-celebration. Back when I was first a Ruby Girl, when I'd previously never even had a sleepover let alone stayed away from home over without family, I found my beliefs being challenged by everyone around me, but especially by a couple boys a few years younger than me. "You don't keep Christmas?" He asked. "That's stupid. Why?" I'll admit I wa...

For:  Alexa, Camille,  Cherish, Clara,  Elisabeth (Lizzy), Elizabeth V.,  Esther, Jessi,  Laura,  Lauren, Mary,  Rashida,  Rilly (GB),  Shelby. ( And all of the other amazing friends of mine.) Most of these girls have been friends of mine for over five years. Some of you have been friends of mine for half of my life. A couple of you I've only known a year or so. They say you can't be best friends with everyone.  I say that's only because it's impossible for me to meet everyone.  They say there's not enough of me to go around for everyone.  I say that God didn't give us limits when He told us to love the world.  But even so ... I'm lucky to call many my best friend, this I know. And even so, I wonder. Why are we such good friends? Sometimes I wonder,  Why you and I?  What brought us together? Why are we friends?  And why hasn't our friendship ended? Because some of my friends...

Selfie at the Norris cemetery... I went to look for inspiration for last names. And... found one for the "bad guys" ;D  When I was in my early teens my mom hired an Amish friend, Rebecca Yoder, to teach us. We would walk, ride our bikes, or drive a pony cart a couple miles to a small mobile home where we had school. Though there were only about seven of us we had a name for our school . . .  Acorn Melody. It was an experience, to be sure. We were used to homeschooling. All at once we had a strict schedule, sat at desks, and had specific lessons and assignments. I loved going to school and I loved our teacher. I loved learning. And I loved reading so many interesting Amish books! I only attended one year as I graduated eighth grade, but it is a year in which I will always look back in with fondness. Though I loved school, I didn't enjoy all of my subjects equally. I've never liked spelling much... probably because I wasn't very good at it. But there was...

I have many questions in life, mostly about how life works and how people make it work.  I don't really bother over common questions like; Why would God allow this? Why is there suffering?  Why is there so much evil if God is good? To me these questions are too petty to think on - the answer to all of them is this: God doesn't allow sin, but we choose it. Suffering is a result of our sin. Consequences. Naturally what we will choose will affect us and others, just as what others choose will affect us and many more people. My question is this: why do people choose evil ???  Why do we hate ? Why are we selfish ?  And why do so many of us choose what is not right somehow managing to convince ourselves that this must be right?? How can two people appear to be following God yet make drastically opposite decisions each "according to the will of God and what He has told them to do" but it somehow hurts one or the other? These ...

If. What a tiny word. Yet it holds so much. It means so much. It is so much. Some mistake this tiny word as evil. Some live by it. But most do not understand it. If brings up the idea of possibility. It can cause change. It is the reason the saying "Curiosity Killed the cat" exists. But did curiosity kill the cat? Or was it the lack of wisdom in choosing what to question  and pursue that killed the cat? Why hate something you can't understand when you can easily question and search it out? That is what the word if allows us to do. Instead of fearing something or allowing something to stay the same, we can ask "What if I did this?" And the more you think on it the more you can decide whether or not it can be fixed or changed or replaced. If is the inspiration of more. Inventions. Imaginations. Revolutions. Peace. Change. Originality. These all start out with "If I did this what would happen?" If can change the...

The quote by Ben Franklin, Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing   is very mind provoking. It inspires me to write BIG. Literature is and always has been a huge part of my life - in just about every form. In a way it is me. This may be hard for some to comprehend. It may seem wrong to others, and again, it might seem unrealistic. Whatever it seems, it is real to me. Everyone has their talents and their ambitions. Writing is mine. And it is far from unreal. It has temptations, struggles, victories, and all that stuff just like anything else. And just like everything else, there are two extremes in writing. The unimaginative by choice (basically only strictly true or "Christian") and the "write anything" attitude. Let me explain why these two are (in my opinion) wrong. - 1. First off, to write unimaginative is not like Yahweh. He is very creative, and loves creating, and seeing his creations create. Fiction is j...