Thunder's Whispers

The other night, I was woken up by a dog breathing in my face.  She was shaking she was so terrified by the storm.  5:17 was a lot earlier than intended to get up, but I couldn't go back to sleep.  Instead, I read my Bible (with my dog laying beside me).  I turned to Psalms, since my best friend told me Psalms is a great book to read in the morning.  Now I understand why she's optimistic all the time.  Anyway, I read Psalm 29.  In verse 3 it says, "The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
   the God of glory thunders,
   the LORD thunders over the mighty waters."
And in verse 7: " The voice of the LORD strikes
   with flashes of lightning."
As I sat there, listening to the thunder rumble and seeing the lightning illuminate the night, I couldn't help but marvel at His power.  At that moment, His voice was the thunder.  I felt his presence around me as the rain beat on the roof.  It was wonderful.

The Butterfly Effect

Close your eyes, and imagine with me for a moment: a beautiful, delegate Monarch butterfly fluttering through the sky on a bright summer’s day.  Beautiful, isn’t it?  Its wings gently flapping then, it glides through the air, gently landing on a flower.  It’s amazing to think there are theories speculating that the butterfly could inadvertently cause a tornado. The Butterfly Effect is a theory that a butterfly flapping its wings could cause a series of events, each time growing larger and larger until a catastrophic event takes place.  It could, in theory, change the course of history. 

The Butterfly Effect in chaos theory is used as an example of how a small factor can greatly vary the results of an occurrence.  Mostly, it used to describe weather conditions.  However, consider this theory when you are making decisions in life. The decision you make can have a lasting effect on your future.  And there’s no changing the past. 

I’m going to ask you to imagine that butterfly again.  You picture it?  Good, now let’s go back to the early 1800s.  This same butterfly is flying through the air.  The vibration from its wings causes a slight change to the atmosphere.  The change in the atmosphere causes much of the sun’s heat to be blocked for a year, causing a severe drought in East Africa.  The entire balance of the ecosystem has shifted in that area.  The crops die, leaving small rodents with no food.  As they die off, so do the larger predators.  It rains, finally ending the drought, and plants spring up quickly.  The rodents reproduce even quicker, nearly causing overpopulation.  As a result, some of the rats and mice board ships bound for Europe on the trade route.  Once in the streets and storehouses of the European countries, the deadly diseases from the rodents spread to people, killing nearly half of Europe’s population in the event known as the Bubonic Plague.

Let’s switch gears as I take you to 1883.  A volcano know as Krakatoa has erupted, sending ash and debris high into the atmosphere.  In Norway, the skies are seen as a strange mercury red as the ashes interfere with the sunlight in the stratosphere.  Artist Edvard Munch paints his famous painting The Scream with those haunting red skies in the background.  It’s seen as one of the most iconic pieces of art in history.  Today, climatologists see the event as a meteorological phenomenon.  Could it possible that a butterfly started the chain reaction that caused the volcano to erupt or the particles to interact with sunlight to create such a mysterious color? 

In Ray Bradbury’s short story, A Sound of Thunder, he explores the possibility that a time traveler stepping on a single butterfly thousands of years ago could create a chain reaction so devastatingly diverse from the original course of history that dinosaurs would still be roaming the earth today.  Society was completely changed, simply by taking a single butterfly out of the equation.

As I say this, just keep in mind the decisions you make.  They could have a lasting effect on everything you do.   A tiny insignificant detail today could mean a drastic difference later in life.  Sometimes, not only will it affect you, but your children, and your children’s children.

You remember that butterfly we’ve been talking about?  Picture it flying through your own front yard.  You can either go out and catch it with your kids, or stay inside and ignore the beautiful day God’s given you.  The choice is yours.    

Or imagine yourself walking in the mall.  In front of you, you see a mother pushing a baby stroller with arms full of bags.  She suddenly drops the cups of juice she’s trying to give to her kid.  You consider not helping her, as she would slow you down to where you’re going.  Instead, you rush up to her, handing her the cup of juice.  She smiles her thanks, and you meet her tired eyes, smiling back. Little do you know, a few feet away sits a man who sees the whole thing.  Later that day, he sees an old couple hobbling to the door.  He barely pays attention; until he remembers the help you gave the busy mother.  He walks to holds the door open for the elderly couple, who graciously thank him.  Not far away, a lady sits watching him help the couple.  As she passes a homeless man on the streets, she remembers the man helping the old couple.  She reaches into her purse and gives the homeless man a few dollars - it’s enough for him to eat for the next two days. 

So you see, the smallest thing you do could start a chain reaction that you didn’t even know about, just like the butterfly.  Everything you do matters.  Whether you accept it or not, the way you act makes a difference.  And if you’re lucky, you just might change history.  The question I have for you today is will you be the one to break the cycle, and start a new chain reaction?

Food for Thought

What if the world were to end right now?  What if this exact moment in time ceased to exist as our Savoir came back?  The Heavens open and display His glory - finally.  Trumpets sound and the Creator of the Universe brings all of His children to Him.  Just imagine what a sight that will be.

Now realize the person sitting next to you is not a Christian.  They are left behind, never having known the Lord.   That takes away some of your joy, doesn't it?  How will you feel when you have to stand before God.  "Why didn't you tell them about me?" is all He asks.  Shame, guilt...feelings that well up, holding you back from the joy you should be feeling. 

Every single second on this earth could be your last.  It could all end, right now.  Use your time wisely.  

       
  

Productive Boredom

The other day, I loved the way the sun was coming through the clouds.  The frozen water droplets on the branches were gorgeous, so I took advantage of it. I tried to capture exactly what I had envisioned. Here are a few pictures I took I thought turned out wonderfully.

Aeterna Lux Solis

Winter's Crystals

Usually my mother is the photographer, but I was bored, and for whatever reason, I was feeling creative.    Here are the results of my boredom:

Chasing Pavement

Lonely Afternoon

I think I may stick to poetry, but I thought these turned out pretty well. 

Love you lots,
Hannah

Not a Choice

A baby is not a

Choice

It’s a human

Life

Abortion is not a

Choice

It’s

Murder

A poem that I enter into a contest about opposing abortion.  It's short, but I think I made my point. 

Joining the Rebelution

I recently started a book called Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris.  It's about my generation starting a Rebelution - a teenage rebellion against low expectations of an ungodly culture.  This is exactly what I need in my life right now.  David's message Sunday morning, this book, and lots of prayer are all screaming the same thing to me: I need to do something.  And the time to do something is right now.  Not tomorrow, not next week, not when I get older.

Twins Alex and Brett are trying to make the point that our teenage years are the best of our lives.  It's not time to party, have a great love life, or even become popular in school.  We need to take advantage of these years to influence other teenagers, and hopefully adults, to do something incredible for an awesome God.  The only way we can do that is by doing hard things.  This requires us to step out of our comfort zones and do things that require an enormous amount of time and energy for a cause greater than ourselves: to bring glory to God and share His love.

Our culture has become accustomed to lazy teenagers who barely scrape by in life.  Alex and Brett challenge that - and I want to join them.  The entire Rebelution started with a blog they had written challenging teens stand out.  Obviously, I can relate to that.  At sixteen years old, they interned at the Alabama Supreme Court, then went on to travel to nearly every state in the country, speaking about the Rebelution.  They wrote this book when they were nineteen.  I'm only a few chapters in, but I'm completely inspired to stand out.   These guys were the same age I am when they interened at the Supreme Court.  I mean, hello! Is that not awesome?  It just proves that you are never too young to do something. 

This is the first step in a long journey, but I am willing to follow through.  God will lead me where He wants me to go; I just have to listen.  It won't be easy, but I know it will be worth it.  I'm going to help change the minds of society, do hard things, and join the Rebelution. 

New Year's Resolution

I finally figured out my New Year's resolution: talk less, listen more.  Recently I realized that some people just need someone to listen to them.  If I am talking all the time, I can't listen to them.  I become more concerned with what I'm saying, and I don't pay attention to their problems.  Some people are naturally just really good listeners and advice givers; it's something I struggle with.  I want my friends to be able to come to me with their problems, knowing I'll listen to them and help them as much as I can.   From experience, I feel so relieved if I can just tell someone my problems.  I want to be the person they can trust to come to when they feel they need help.  So guess I'm just trying to say that if you ever need anyone to listen, I'm here.