A Short Grammar Lesson

Dear readers,
Answering my own loose ends from the last post, the pocket watch and I are 'official', I finished my junior year of high school, my sister is home for the summer, and I have something I am itching to write about today.


So, yesterday I went to a graduation party for a friend of the family, and his younger brother is my age. Their family is the first we met when we moved here. I liked him (the younger brother) for 4 years (4th-8th grade), and we played together for the majority of our childhoods. Anyhow, I saw him yesterday and he's still as awesome as ever. 


We got on to the topic of an old boy friend because oddly enough, his girlfriend messaged me on facebook and I found it quite surprising. He went on to tell me that my old boyfriend was recently admitted to a mental facility. He is still dealing with the issues he had when we were together. Then, also to my astonishment, my heart went out to him. I suspect it is mostly due to my own experiences at a mental hospital, but also that I prayed for a long time that he would find help. I am really glad that he is finally getting help. If I know one thing about mental issues, it is that you can't make them go away on your own. I guess I just wanted to write about it because it made me realize that, while he is far-removed from my life, and I've moved on, I still care a little bit. I'm really glad that he has a girl friend now. Having people be close and love on you in a time like this is so important, and she seems like a sweet person. Ok...I think that's all I'm going to write about today. Hopefully, I will get a chance to write more this summer. Until then,
I before E, except after C,
Helena Elise

Racism, Ex-Boyfriends, New Beginnings, and my 'Beverly Hills'

Greetings everyone!! I apologize for the scatter-brained, and rambling format of this entry! I hope you enjoy it.
I just finished an outline of a paper I will write in the next month, about a hero, Ruby Bridges. 
In the midst of my procrastination I stumbled upon two things equally striking. One, that there was a boy/man (19) in the news who was sentenced to two life sentences in jail for murdering a black man as a hate crime. Also, that he strikingly resembled a previous boyfriend I had a few years ago. Naturally this struck me, so I read the passage. It stunned and shocked me, considering I am researching a woman who was part of the effort to end these horrendous acts of hate. I pity not only the black man's family, but also the boy who is going to prison. Yes, he is guilty, but I don't believe that anyone can sincerely say they don't feel at least a bit sympathetic to a boy of 19 who will spend part of his life in prison. 


The second thing I found striking, which honestly is sort of an overstatement because it's not as monumental as an adolescent sentenced to a life sentence in prison, is that I checked an ancient email account and found several letters from the old boyfriend I mentioned earlier. They were all about some sort of "success story" or his heartbreaking story of declaring bankruptcy and each required me to open a link. I suspect his account has been hacked, yet I messaged him back nonetheless. I said something to the affect of "unless you've started a small business and decided to live on your own, I don't think you have declared bankruptcy...correct me if I'm wrong..." Hopefully this was  just spam, and his email has since been shut down.


Moving on to other subjects, I like a boy. He is about an inch and one half shorter than me, but otherwise, he's just my kind of guy. Here on out, I will refer to him as the pocket watch. I'm not sure why yet exactly, but somehow he reminds me of time, in a sweet and fantastic way. At any rate, he is a gentleman and, more importantly, a strong man of God. Even if he wasn't my significant counterpart, I am still proud to call him my friend. We've liked each other since the new year, but his crush has apparently been around for about 3 years. We will most likely (assuming everything goes well) be 'official' sometime after spring break, when my parents come back from their trip to L.A. Carrying right along, since the general public often goes into a boredom-induced coma once a relationship other than their own is mentioned, I guess I'll talk about the last few months since I've neglected to post anything. 


My dad returned safely home from Afghanistan, my first sister is enjoying college, my second sister just got her own house and is moving in soon, I scraped by my first semester of the infamous junior year with a 3.4, my mom is still just as amazing as she's ever been, and my little brother is the president of his class, as well as the only guy in his class that has the first real understanding of how to treat a lady...but maybe I'm biased. ;)


Life as I know it is beautiful, and satisfying. I'm not sure I could ask for much more in this life. I have recently been reflecting on my own lack of gratitude and habitual pace of taking things for granted, but I think that is an entry for another time. Until then, love others, drink good tea, and get up early because it makes the day last so much longer. 
Sincerely, and always,
Your happily forgotten writer,
Helena Elise

A few chords

So I sit.
Sometimes life is a close relative of Satan's kingdom. While my heart tears and convulses with the pangs of pain I hold for my hurting family members, I oddly feel closest to God at these moments. Whether my reaction to press into him is a response of a faithful disciple or a doubtful and vulnerable human being, I do not know. I suspect a bit of both, more so the human part...at any rate, I am grateful for it.
My heart cries for the widows and orphans and the homeless and fatherless and those without a family. I'm not sure where I'm going with this, so instead of wasting time, I'll cut this short- it's time to live for Isaiah 58:10 "and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday."
 That's all
Love and blessings,
Helena Elise

A few chords

So I sit.
Sometimes life is a close relative of Satan's kingdom. While my heart tears and convulses with the pangs of pain I hold for my hurting family members, I oddly feel closest to God at these moments. Whether my reaction to press into him is a response of a faithful disciple or a doubtful and vulnerable human being, I do not know. I suspect a bit of both, more so the human part...at any rate, I am grateful for it.
My heart cries for the widows and orphans and the homeless and fatherless and those without a family. I'm not sure where I'm going with this, so instead of wasting time, I'll cut this short- it's time to live for Isaiah 58:10

Oceans of Justice

So, I've come to realize junior year isn't nearly as difficult as everyone promised. I'm not complaining, I'm just saying it's been weird. Also, it's not like I haven't been busy, I'm just not as shocked as I thought I would be.
Anyways, hello fellow bloggers, it's been awhile since I last posted. Life has been crazy!! I hope everyone is well.
A girl said to my youth group this week that she was looking out over us worshiping last week, and we weren't alive. Got me thinking about apathy and stuff. So, read Amos. It talks about all that kind of stuff. Amos 5:21-24 in the message says, "I can't stand your religious meetings. 
   I'm fed up with your conferences and conventions.
I want nothing to do with your religion projects, 
   your pretentious slogans and goals.
I'm sick of your fund-raising schemes, 
   your public relations and image making.
I've had all I can take of your noisy ego-music. 
   When was the last time you sang to me?
Do you know what I want? 
   I want justice—oceans of it.
I want fairness—rivers of it. 
   That's what I want. That's all I want."

Wow, talk about convicting. Justice - oceans of it. Let's fight for it. 

Let's start singing to Him again, I agree that we've lost the passion. We're not ALIVE. 

So, live and sing and be alive in our heart when you sing.

Keep Going,

Helena Elise

Waffles

Every single day, I see someone I would enjoy taking a long walk with, holding hands with, or stealing a kiss from. Deciding not to date...even for one year of highschool, is going to be one of the most difficult challenges I have taken up. While last year I only really began a relationship in the last few months of school, it was a relationship nonetheless. But my God is worth every day of this. I'm going to need prayer, for any of you that continue to read my blog. I mean, every girls likes to be flattered and doted on. My problem is that I have found myself loving those compliments more than what the God of the universe says about me. The point is not to make a statement about the ludicracy of highschool relationships, but to find myself in God. It's to regocnize that my identity comes from my creator. Not from an adolescent boy. I want to wait. I want to have something special for my future husband.
So it goes...
FOR NARNIA!!!!!!
(but really for God)
love,
helena

Please prove yourself wrong

My house is shaking with the rolls of thunder. As we tell travis- the angels ae bowling. Life is so precious, but shouldn't eternity be even more so? Why are we more focused on saving the life, than saving the eternity? Food for thought.
I think that's all I have for today.
With mustard seeds and grape juice,
Helena elise