And the last will be first.....

I opened my bible tonight to a passage in Matthew that speaks about the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16) It is a parable about a landowner who hired some men to work in his vineyard early in the morning. All throughout the day he hired more and more men to come and work for him. But at the end of the day, they all received the same amount of money. I had read this passage before, and probably listened to a sunday school lesson or sermon on it at some point. But tonight is when it all clicked. Matthew 20:1 says "for the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard...." and goes on from there. I realized the passage is saying that it doesn't matter if you devote your time to God one hundred years before you die or one year before you die, you will receive the same reward in heaven, the reward of eternal life. So go read that passage, and start living for God! Stop procrastinating. He will take you now just as readily as 2 years ago, or 2 years from now. But remember, you don't know how long you have to live. So do it now, and receive the benefits. Thats all. :)

9/11

A day we will never forget. September 11 will always be seared into my memory. Most of my friends don't even remember knowing about the attacks for days or weeks after that fact, as we were so young in 2001. But I remember watching the footage on TV of the plane crashes over and over.
I can't say I remember a lot from that day, just that i watched a plane crash into a tall building and lots of smoke start pouring out. Dad had called mom just a few minutes earlier and told her to turn on the TV. So we did, and that's what we saw. Being homeschooled, I saw it when many of my friends now didn't.
I remember the guys on TV were talking about a lot of stuff I didn't understand and It was starting to get boring. Mom told me to go play. But even after I went upstairs, I didn't want to play. I knew something really terrible had happened and there was a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. I will never forget that day.
A few years later after I really realized what happened, i wrote a really long poem in bed one night (in my head), but unfortunately forgot it. This is another poem i wrote, different, but the same basic idea. It is very sad and a little graphic. But poetry is how I relate, so here it is. Tell me what you think. And never forget those who gave their lives, willingly or unwillingly.

When The South Tower Fell

He took his baby girl to work that day
She skipped a day of Kindergarten
Sat in his office, spun in his chair
Just another day of work, He thought
He took her down to breakfast,
And she forgot her sweater
So they went back to get it
When the elevator doors closed
The whole building shook.

He couldnt see her anymore,
Debris was falling everywhere
He shouted her name,
Grabbed for her little hand
They had to get out
Screaming as a man jumped
Out of the shattered window
Turning away,
Grabbing his baby,
Running down the stairs

She cried as they ran from the 53 floor
And again when they fell at another
Shake of the building,
Bigger than before
The stairway was filled with smoke
He wetted his hankerchief with
Water from a bottle
And held it to her face

Down and down he ran
Keep her safe
Keep my baby safe
His thoughts only on her
He ran, coughing from smoke
The stairs wouldnt end
And the building shook,
Started caving in

Floor 7, floor 6
They were close, they were there
he ran faster and faster
Floor 5, floor 4
Dodging falling chunks of building
jumping over fallen supports
People ran screaming
"Get out. Get Out. We're going to die!"
Floor 3, floor 2.
Lobby. He Ran.

A massive shake,
he couldnt see the doors
Everything was smoky, dusty
A man on fire ran past
His clothes and skin burning
A beam fell, almost hitting them,
He saw an opening, a firefighter
He squeezed her through
Shouted "Take her!"

She clung to the man in yellow
Turned for her daddy's hand
A cloud of dust burst from behind
Orange flames licked up
"Daddy!" she called
She heard a scream
"Daddy!" her voice was frantic
The man in yellow carried her
Fast to a red fire-truck
They rode away
"Its falling! Hurry!"
She saw him one last time,
And the building collapsed
"DADDY!"

Grow

Why did the rain go away
Was it something I said
Counting the minutes of the day
Till the sun goes to bed

Stubborn cloud, I watch you rolling past
What would it take for you to cry at last
Don't be afraid to let your feelings show
If we dry up, then we won't grow

Should I tell you a story to make you sad
I've seen my share of pain
You've stolen the joy that I had
Every last drop down the drain

Stubborn cloud, I watch you rolling past
What would it take for you to cry at last
Don't be afraid to let your feelings show
If we dry up, then we won't grow

Isn't the load that you cary heavy
Isn't it time to let it down already

Stubborn cloud, I watch you rolling past
What would it take for you to cry at last
Don't be afraid to let your feelings show
If we dry up, then we won't grow

~JJ Heller

Update Time!

I keep promising to blog more often, and I keep failing! I am so sorry. School has started, as has loads of homework, early bird pe, cross country meets, all state prep and much needed sleep when I can get it. Because of labor day, though, we have a three day weekend! I am super excited, mostly to sleep in on Monday.
Speaking of xc by the way, our second meet was this morning. I didn't do the best, unfortunately because I had a horrible pain in my side most of the race, and was also having trouble breathing. Might have something to do with unknown allergies that I may or may not have. Oh well, I can only hope for better luck next Thursday.
Also, I finished my 40 day fast! I meant to give more updates along the way, but hope I can give more later since that didn't happen. I would give updates now, but I'm doing this on my iPod, and it is already taking forever to type my message. So have a great weekend everyone, and get lots of sleep! ;)