Favorite Books Anyone?

Dear Readers,

Carrie and I were wondering if you have some titles you would like to share with us. We would love to hear from you. Tell us what books you absolutely couldn't live without, what you are reading currently, or ones that you might want to read and need a review of. Tell us anything and everything you know about books.....well, maybe not everything. We do want some suggestions, though.

I am super excited to hear your feedback!

-Sage Anderson for Carrie and the S.J.

P.S. Email us if you would like to have a job reviewing books for our readers! serendipityjournal@gmail.com

Honesty

Honesty is a highly acclaimed virtue. This virtue is established through words and actions. It is simple, yet also difficult to attain absolute honesty. According to the dictionary, honesty is truthfulness, justice, equity, genuineness, reality, sincerity, and morality. In contrast, honesty is not: deceit, dishonesty, lies, tricks, or cheating. Any of these acts do not resemble total honesty.

There are numerous causes for people to not achieve perfect honesty. The most prevalent of these is fear. Fear of embarrassment, punishment, or negative consequences. Branch Rickey once stated, “Basic honesty allows a man never to be ashamed.” This tells us we have no cause to be dishonest. Being honest has many advantages, some of which include trust from others and opportunities for the future. If youth are honest they are enabled to make wise decisions, and to become good students, adults, citizens, employees, and employers. These reasons are only a couple of examples of why youth need to regard honesty highly.

It is very sensible for youth to be honest in all situations. William Shakespeare once said, “No legacy is as rich as honesty.” And Lise Meitner also said, “Justice is inseparable from truth.” We should be careful to speak and act in the truth at all times. School, home, church, social situations, [such as purchasing supplies at a store, or attending parties and sporting events] in legal situations, [such as probation hearings or being stopped by a peace officer] entertainment, and employment are great places to show complete honesty. Demosthenes, an ancient Greek orator, declared, “What we have in us of the image of God, is the love of truth and justice.” This statement finalizes the topic of having absolute honesty in everything.

Melvin the Evil Black Fox by Carrie Hiller

Melvin the Evil Black Fox

There once was a country called... well, that I am not permitted to tell you. In the country, an evil loomed. It was called (“I love this story!” “Christopher! Would you shut up? I’m trying to write a story here!”) Melvin. Melvin, the Evil Black Fox. (“Oh, yeah, Melvin’s a really evil name.” “Christopher!”) The Evil Fox roamed the land, and the king took many precautions against it. (“Wait, isn’t this the king of Cau-” “Christopher! I’m not permitted to hear or speak the the name of the country!” “Gosh, sorry.”) The king, named King Huron, set up a barrier around the kingdom, doubled his army, and increased the work force to dig a trench. But somehow Melvin (“I laugh every time I hear that name.” “Christopher!” “Well-“ “I said be quiet!”) got through all of these traps, and the king became depressed. The people of the land were also angered, for Melvin was ravaging their homes in the dead of night, stealing their food, and taking their money. Many soldiers lost their lives in search of the Fox to destroy him. Finally, one boy came along (“Oh yeah, this part.” “CHRISTOPHER!”) and challenged all the knights and soldiers. This is what he said: “O hail, thou knights and soldiers, for I challenge thee! Listen carefully to my words, for I shall henceforth speaketh only once. (“This kid is weird. What’s with the old English?” “It’s part of the story.” “Oh.”) Here is my request: That thy swords be sharpened and unsheathed, thy chivalry be diminished, and thy feet be quick as fire! For I challenge thee to a race! A race to find Melvin, this Evil Black Fox thou speaketh so much of. My name is Nivlem, the knight from a country I am not permitted to speak of, and I challenge thee, (“Hasn’t he already said that enough?” “Shut up! This is my story, not yours!”) once and for all, to find this Melvin! The first to do so shall be rewarded in full by me. I shall givest thou eight gold pieces if you are successful in bring Melvin to me-alive. Now, find Melvin, and then-find me!” And he disappeared. The crowd gasped in stunned silence. They did not know what to do. Then suddenly, (“Hey! This is where that one knight gives a battle cry or something and then runs into the forest to find Melvin, who is actually-“ “CHRISTOPHER SHANE WILLIAMS! How many times do I have to tell you?” “Yikes, a little aggressive, are we?”) a knight lifted his sword and gave a battle cry and raced into the forest. Five other knights, coming to their senses, raced after him.

Behind a tree, Melvin the Evil Black Fox snickered. “They’ll never find me. Or this 'Nivlem'.”

And they haven’t. Not yet. (“Except for your brother!” “Yes, except for my annoying brother-“ “I forgot what the country was called.” “Don’t try me.”) Not ever. For here he sits, writing this now, and those six knights are still running all over the forests. (“Wasn’t it Caudland?” “CHRISTOPHER!!”)

Hey, Readers, it's Carrie

As you can see this is a very short story that needs a little bit of work. There are things I need to change, but I'm not sure how to do it. That is where you come in. Here are a few questions for you to answer. You can make up a story or do a short answer, whatever you like.

-Who exactly is Melvin, why does the king fear him, and how did he come to be?

-Why can't he speak or hear the name of the town he was in? (Caudland)

-Why is with his brother?

-And why is he writing this story anyway??

You only need to answer one or two of the questions, not all of them. Send your answers to serendipityjournal@gmail.com Thanks for your help!

~Carrie for the S.J.

Poem Club!

Here is a new club for October!

Personally, I love to write poems. If you like to, here is your chance to share them! We may publish your poems, if they meet our standards on the list below. Just email your poems to serendipityjournal@gmail.com and our editors will check for any spelling errors, contact you, and publish your poem as one of the S.J.'s own posts!

I cannot wait to see everything you have.

~Carrie for the S.J.

P.S.

Here is some criteria for sent-in poems:

1. Give us a only a first name, fake name, or have us post it as anonymous.

2. Include a title or 'theme' (if you wish.)

3. No crude or profane items. (thank you!)

4. Have fun with it!

More info for the first debate

Hello Readers,

For a while, we have been getting some opposition to our answer to the first debate. (Can science prove anything?) So here is some more references for you to check out.

This one is an article that is definitely worth reading all the way through.

The Universe Confirms the Bible - Answers in Genesis

Here is a quote from a book I am reading.

.....Science work by experiments. It watches how things behave. Every scientific statement in the long run, however complicated it looks, really means something like, 'I pointed the telescope to such and such a part of the sky at 2:20 a.m. on January 15th and saw so-and-so,' or, 'I put some of this stuff in a pot and heated it to such-and-such a temperature and it did so-and-so.' Do not think I am saying anything against science: I am only saying what its job is. And the more scientific a man is, the more (I believe) he would agree with me that this is the job of science-and a very useful and necessary job it is too.

Lewis, C.S. Mere Christianity. © HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. 2001.

I hope this helps you in your search of the answer.

Sage and Carrie for the S.J.

Peanut Butter Club!

Here is the official post for the opening of the Peanut Butter Lovers Club!

Everyone- Please tell us your favorite peanut butter recipe or peanut butter memories! =]

Thank you!

The Breath-Taker by Carrie Hiller

Well, for most of you, summer is over and school has started. Some of you may already be ready for summer. So for everyone who has the school blues, I have a remedy! Here's a story to take you back to summer camp....

Strapping my white helmet painfully over my head, I walk towards the one-foot tall plank platform. I check my harnesses next - they are tight and secure. Perhaps a little too tight, but better safe than sorry.

"I need two spotters!" the counselor monitoring the rope swing called the Breath-taker calls. Two of my friends, similarly decked in harnesses, stride forward. As I climb the rickety ladder to be attached to a rope, their arms are extended upward to catch me if I fall.

The counselor double-checks all of my harnesses, then attaches the rope that everyone will pull me up with. "Everyone go to the rope!" she yells. "Now, Carrie is going to say, 'Spotters ready?' And you will say, 'Ready!' She will say, 'Trusting,' and you will reply, 'Trust us, Carrie.' Then you will all pull the rope."

After a moment I repeat what I am supposed to say. The ladder is taken out from under me. I feel myself suspended ten feet into the air. Suddenly the rope jerks, and I begin to go up. Now I am twenty feet high. Now twenty-five feet, and thirty. Forty feet, fifty....

Someone yells, "You're at the top!" I open my eyes quickly; the ground spins beneath me. The height, probably seventy-five feet, makes me dizzy with fear and excitement all at the same time, and I immediately clamp my eyes shut.

I clutch the harness straps near my shoulders, only to hold on to something. As if it will keep me from falling off of the rope. Taking a deep breath, I shout, "One, two, three, Breath-taker!" Then, I yank the small rope at my side, which disconnects me from the pulley rope, and I plummet down, hanging merely from a cable. As I swing diagonally toward the platform, I open my eyes quickly, to see that I am about to crash - Whoosh! I miss it by inches (or perhaps a foot or two). Then I swing up again. Soon I am falling back down again, and up, and down, like the pendulum on a clock, all the while clinging to the harness' shoulder straps.

Just when I have a sick churning in my belly and can stand it no longer, the counselor hits her forearm against my leg, to slow me down. I go up and down once more; again, she hits my legs.

All of my muscles are still taught as I come to a halt. The ladder is put in front of me once more, so with trembling hands and knocking knees I carefully climb down.

Shaking, I unbuckle my helmet and unstrap my harnesses while walking over to my friends. They bombard me with questions.

"How was it?"

"Why'd you close your eyes the whole time?"

"Did you like it?"

Now, all in all, I must say it was pretty fun. And the name truly fits it, for it really does take your breath away.

Clubs

Hello S.J. readers!

What do you think about adding a new aspect to The Serendipity Journal?

Well, we thought to make the blog a little more fun, we could form clubs. This kind of club is a good kind, and it also is only an idea, don't get us wrong.

Listen to our thoughts and see what you think.

1. Anyone, no matter what, can join.

2. They will be to inspire others and get inspired yourself.

3. If none of you readers like them, we can take them away.

It's that simple.

Let us give you an example;

I (Sage) am going to start this new idea by making a club myself.

It will be a Peanut Butter Lovers club! Anyone can join this club.

Mostly it will consist of favorite recipes from readers, but other stuff is great too!

We might want to start a Poetry club where people submit their favorite poems and ones they have written.

(Do you mostly get the idea?)

If you have an idea for a S.J. club (we will call them S.J.C.s to make it easier.), just email us at serendipityjournal@gmail.com and Carrie and I will approve them and put up a post about is A.S.A.P! Have fun with this!

Your friends at the Serendipity Journal,

Sage Anderson and Carrie Hiller