Week #14

I commonly here that guys do certain things to impress girls, whether its to show off, claiming they know how to do things when they really don’t, or learning something new to impress the girl. Little did I know, girls were capable of doing the same things as well.

It was my sophomore year in high school, and it was the second year I'd been dating my first serious, real, boyfriend, who was now a senior. He was big into snowboarding, and had been after me for a year to learn so I could go to Sugarloaf with him. I finally caved in, and that would be the winter I began to snowboard. That Christmas I my parents got me the works, a brand new snowboard, and the boots and bindings to match. I'm not sure why I didn’t think of renting a snowboard that were available at the mountain first, so I could try it out and decide if I was going to like it and stick with it first before I had my parents get me the works.

First day on the mountain, and my ever so patient boyfriend skipped the teaching, dragged me onto the lift and away we went. Wait- no, nope, we were not on our way. I fell getting onto the lift, I fell getting off the lift, both causing the lift to be stopped for safety reasons, I fell every five to seven feet, it was not working. I wasn’t taught HOW to snowboard the techniques of it, ya know, to keep me from falling! Needless to say, my snowboarding career was short lived, and my parents were less than impressed to see a very expensive Christmas gift thrown into a corner and left.

This year, about five years since I last used my snowboard, without the patient ex-boyfriend, I'm going to give it a try, but first I'm going to look up ways to successfully snowboard without having a black and blue rear end.

First, I need to be able to stand in the board comfortably, practicing falling and then figuring out how to get up once I've fallen with both feet in my bindings. I read, then when you fall on your rear end, to put your weight into your weakest foot/leg, then throwing your strongest foot/leg over the weaker one, this technique will allow you to get onto your knees. From yours knees you can then use your arms to push yourself back up onto your feet.

Now that I've learned how to fall and get back up, next I'll need to learn how to go down the mountain.
Before conquering the mountain, its suggested that I walk up a hill, strap on the board, and try going down a little hill a few times first to get used to dealing with the speed and control. To control the board, I'm going to need to learn to throw my weight between my tippy toes and heels, the toes will be used to control the board when going down the hill vertically, and to turn or stop, throw the weight into the heels, bending my knees more when I want to stop.

So, now that I know how to stand while strapped onto the snowboard, get up from falling, controlling the board, turning the board, and stopping when I feel like it. There is just one thing left that fills me with fear. The lift.

I read that the trick to the lift, is that you have to leave one foot out of the bindings, preferably the strongest foot. When I have to move in line, al I do is put my foot thats out of the binding onto the middle part of the board between the two bindings, securing it tightly against the binding my foot should be in, then I should just be able to slide down in line. Leaving my strongest foot out while getting onto and off of the lift will me to have more control. If I need to, I can use my strongest foot to walk, dragging my board and strapped in foot behind me. Sounds easier said than done, but we'll see.

Now that I have gained knowledge on how to stand while strapped into a snowboard, get up from falling, controlling and turning the board, stopping, as well as getting on and off of the lift, the true test will be when I arrive at the mountain this year, if we ever get snow. Perhaps I should take the lack of snow as a blessing in disguise. No snow means no snowboarding, no snowboarding means no sore body, no humiliation when they have to turn the lift off from me falling in the way, but I'm determined to learn to snowboard and do it successfully so fake snow or real snow, I will try to snowboard again after not doing so for six years.

Week #13

Lately, as people continue to pass away that are close to me, I'm left wondering, worrying and hoping. I'm wondering if they were saved, accepted Christ as their personal savior and if they'll be going to Heaven or Hell. I worry that I might not ever see them again if they weren't saved, if they didn't go to Heaven. I worry about my future, if I'll be accepted into Heaven, I'm saved, but sometimes it seems to good to be true. God forgives us for any sins, ones we've commited, and ones we don't even know we'll be committing in the future, but God will be accepting us either way, just as long as in some point in our lives we accepted him as our personal savior. I'm hoping that the ones that were close to me were in fact saved and went to Heaven, and that my family, my mom, dad, and brothers will one day come to decide what their fate will be.

The book "90 Minutes in Heaven" always comforts me and leaves me with hope, ends my wondering, and gets rid of most of my worries.

The man in the book, Don Piper, is on his way home from a conference when he gets into a horrible car accident. As soon as medical help arrived they pronounced him dead at the scene, and for 90 minutes he was. In the traffic jam that Piper's accident caused there was a pastor. When the pastor heard that the man had died, he went to every car in the traffic jam and told them to pray, and the pastor himself prayed as well. For 90 minutes Piper experienced Heaven, and tells of the paradise it was, how his loved ones were there, there wasnt any pain, suffering or anything to worry about. Don Piper came back to life, and tells of his experience in Heaven and shares it with others to help bridge others to a secure after life.

Personally, I believe him, and find motivation as wells as hope and comfort in the words in his book. His story shows me the power of prayer. Praying brought him back to life, possibly something he didnt want to come back to, but with the power of prayer he was back, people who didnt even know him prayed for him. Now when I get frustrated with prayer, thinking its not worth it, I find myself doing it anyway. Just because I pray for something doesnt mean that its going to happen, it doesnt mean its going to prevent my loved ones from passing on, it doesnt make all my problems go away, but it gives me home and strength to continue on. In the story when he comes back to life, he obviously has a long road to recovery, with learning how to walk again, deal with broken bones, and a back, and God was there for him. Giving him strength to continue on, helping him achieve his goal. Ultimately, his story shows me that Heaven is real. That there really is something after this life. A life without suffering, worries, and being re-united with loved ones that accepted God as their savior.

I respect others opinions of this book, of their personal belief on after life, what they think of religion, or if they just dont have one at all. But for me "90 Minutes in Heaven" gives me hope, and makes me feel more secure.

An eternal life with a God who is always accepting? I'll be there.
An eternal life without suffering? I'll take it.
An eternal life with my loved ones who too, have accepted Christ as their savior? Yes, please.
An eternal life without  worries, natural disasters, or pain? I'll take it.

"90 Minutes in Heaven" shows that these things are real, and just by reading a book, I can be set back on track with my faith.