Title Change

It's fall, in case you haven't noticed. At least, it is in this part of the world.

And fall is a time of changes, so I decided to change my title. Something shorter, you know. Something swingy. So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. You are now reading "Christian Writing - Teenage Style". Today, I will be reviewing a new discovery of mine, The Christy Miller Collection, by Robin Jones Gunn. So this is a little stuff for the ladies. Suck it up, peeps.

The Christy Miller Collection

by Robin Jones Gunn

The Christy Miller Collection is a series of books that, ultimately, turned me over to God. There are twelve books in the series, with three books in each volume. See here to my right and above, Volume One. Sorry it's so blurry, my computer is messed, and I wanted to make the picture bigger. Christy Miller is about a girl named Christy Miller. There is also, after that, the Sierra Jensen Series, which is another twelve books (I haven't got there yet) and then the Christy and Todd: College Years trilogy.

Christy Miller goes through lots of things: a BIG move, jealousy, becoming a Christian, falling in love, giving, tough friendships and true friendships. She's a girl we can all truly relate to, except, of course, she lives in CALIFORNIA and she has the best boyfriend (Todd) ever. Todd is, without a doubt, THE best character in the series. Unfortunately, Todd is not real and is truly perfect for Christy. The best lines in the books are him saying, "Later, Chris," and jutting his chin up.

My favourite book of the Christy Miller Series, so far, is Book Five, Island Dreamer, when Christy, Todd, and Christy's best friend from Wisconsin, Paula, go to Maui for Christy's sixteenth birthday. By FAR the cutest and most romantic of all the books.

If you are a girl, I HIGHLY recommend the Christy Miller Series. Thanks to my friend Maxine for getting me into them. Without them, I wouldn't have turned my heart over to God when I did.

Today's Bible chapter (my new Bible has a reading plan, which I am following): Mark 2.

Good luck in school everyone!

luv, blessings,

emma eldon

Manga Messiah: Book Review

Hello everyone in cyper space! Today, I am going to start wha will seem like an endless stream of book and blog reviews. So, for all you people who AREN'T Christian who read my website... the next few posts will either give you something to think about, or totally turn you off. Hopefully the first one, though...

Manga Messiah

The Life and Teachings of Jesus, Manga Style!

This is the COOLEST way to learn about Jesus and what he stood for in his short life on Earth. You get visuals of all the characters you learned about as a kid, and gain some interesting insights on WWJD, or What Would Jesus Do? Manga Messiah follows the life of Jesus, right from Gabriel's appearance to Mary (the anunciation) to Jesus' ressurection. Whenever there's a demon or the devil in the story, the manga-ists get to show their tough side, creating collossal and deadly-looking demon-things. Anyway, it's cool, there's no doubt about that.

The next few days (until sunday, actually) I'll be very busy or away or whatever, so I won't be blogging. Check out the links to other blogs on this site, though, particularly the new addition to the 'links' list, Camy Tang's Blog, Story Sensei. I WILL be reviewing this blog.

If you're looking for Manga Messiah, go to a Christian bookstore, or maybe your church's library (it's where I found mine) has a copy.

Well, Toodle-oo,

luv,

emma eldon

How Can I Say This?

Well, maybe I do know how...

I've just started high school; I am forced to balance my internet life, social life, writing life and school life; I'm beginning my Grade 7 Piano and learning how to play the french horn; and also trying to figure out where God and my spiritual life fit into all this.

Probably almost everybody who reads this will have gone or will go to high school at some time in their life, so they will know that high school is a very awesome, very high-stress, also ironically laid-back experience, and having to balance that with your writing life (online and off) is very, very, very high-stress. Tonight I still have to make lunches for tomorrow, finish this post, update you on my life, do my math homework (yawn), shower, and make sure I don't forget one of these things so my Mom doesn't have to nag me about it.

Anyways, I JUST got a new Bible (it's a tradition for grade 9's at my church), and it's got this awesome little reading plan in it that helps you stay on track with reading the Bible. Which I am FULLY planning to do.

Also have to update you on some things that will be coming up. Book Reviews!!! I have tons of great ones, that I wish to share with you.

So: so long, farewell!

Goodnight and Blessings,
Love,
Emma Eldon

Summer Jobs

Okay, so four weeks from today, it's the second day of school, and wouldn't you know it, I wait until AUGUST to get a summer job! Since I'm just so INCOMPETENT (Brady will never read this blog, but I can give at least that just to annoy him) and slow and YOUNG! I am the youngest person working at my job, and everybody else is just so OLD!

By the way, if I didn't mention it, I'm a cashier at the local family-owned market. It's a great work environment and even though all the other girls are way older than me, they're still fun to talk to. I'm working with VEGETABLES all day... yawn! But so far I really like it, other than a few mess-ups when I forgot to give people their change... and then stand there for a few minutes figuring out how much change I still owe the person. I'm stupid with math.

But it's so much fun to talk to the other girls I work with. Tia just told me today how her bellybutton ring was torn out when someone bumped her when she was swimming and how she had to go to downtown Wasaga on the Civic Holiday weekend to a tattoo parlour on the main drag with cops swarming the place and screaming people. And Amanda was telling Jalyssa and Lauren how her boyfriend (who lives in North Bay) was mad at her for not spending $200 to hop on a bus and visit him for the weekend. Everyone was sympathising with her. He has a car, why doesn't he spend the $40 gas money to come down here? Geez! Men! And Lauren was wondering if she should buy a double bed for her dorm room this fall. She could do with a single but she thought doubles were so much more comfy.

You see what I mean? Good, quality girl talk. I need to organise a sleepover soon. Now that I have SOME girl talk, I want MORE.

So, all of you who have a summer job they love, kudos to you! I love mine too! And for all those of you who have a summer job they hate, well I guess you'll do better next time... oh, and HA, HA, HA!

Yours,
emma

VBS and Writing Ideas

Hi readers!!

I've been at my little country church's Vacation Bible School (VBS for short) this past week!!! In the past ten or eleven or twelve years that I've been going, I've always been in the programs, from a student's perspective... but this year... the grade eights were taken from the program to look after little, annoying, funny, children as group leaders.

I was leading a group with my friend Amanda and we were the GREEN GROUP!!!! We had grades 3, 4, 5 and the names of the kids were Makayla, Michaela, Duane, Logan, Olivia, Sarah, Jonathan, Leelind and Matthew. And weren't they fun? We were learning to Listen Up! for God's messages!! We were the Slowpoke Messengers (our own group name, that we made ourselves, due to our stuffed tortoise mascot Slowpoke) and our mascots were the aforesaid Slowpoke and Big Eyes the stuffed frog!! And we ALMOST had a live mascot, but Amanda was carrying it (a live frog) and she dropped it and squished it by accident. Within about five minutes, the entire bible school knew that the Green Group had killed their live mascot!!!

It was a very spiritually enriching week, even for me, the old teenager...

I've had so much fun with friends from EVERYWHERE that I think I've talked myself out!!

Well, I'd better sign out now,

Love, and Blessings,

emma eldon

P.S. I don't know if you're like this or not, but writing ideas keep popping up EVERYWHERE for me! I started a whole new story because of random ideas!!!

Summer!

So...

WHAT TIME IS IT? Oh, don't worry. I won't go on a tirade of high school musical numbers just to annoy you! I get enough of that from my annoying little sister.

But it IS summer. I have been reading all these magazines talking about finding summer love! For me, finding ANY love would be great! Never mind summer. Well, I'll be busy.

First of all, my graduation went quite well; I didn't faint or barf or cry or even pee my pants during my speech. And you know what? I was SO SO SO nervous right up until I stood up to go up there and speak with Andy, and then I was fine! And I grinned and laughed and I said the first line! And many lines after that, but still, I didn't choke up! And then the dinner was delicious and my slide show went awesomely and we danced right until 10:30 and my feet were KILLING me and I could barely even smirk after smiling for fifteen straight minutes while getting my pictures taken. Eeeepp!

And the last day of school was so short! Oh, I could have died at the shortness of it all! I didn't have enough time to spend with the people I had come to love over the past year. All of a sudden, we had fifteen mintues left of the day and I just couldn't stop CRYING!

And I start my new job in August, working at a local farm market until the season closes in October. And then there's VBS (Vacation Bible School) and I am one of the group leaders this year! One of my best friends volunteered me!

And then there's every sort of get-together and sleepover and movie night and party that I could want and then HIGH SCHOOL comes up and just knocks my socks off. I am SO excited except just a teensie, tiny bit afraid. Well, maybe ALOT! I'm sure to get lost!!!

Anyway, enough of me burdening my business on you, why don't YOU tell me a bit about yourself. Please leave comments in my comment section, I like hearing from you all!

Next time I'll be inventive and come up with some writing tip for you! I have quite a good little handbook on writing!

Love, Cheers,
emma eldon

Grad!

Tomorrow night is Graduation and I am PSHYCED!!! I get to dress up in a pretty dress and get my hair done and wear heels and everything. We're having a dinner and a dance and we're going to have a BLAST!!!

I know I will be ALOT better once I get my speech over with, though. I have to say a speech, as I'm valedictorian. AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!! Tie me down, I may run out of the building. Or barf. Or, worst of all, cry. At least I get to share this misery with my co-valedictorian, Andy. Hopefully he will catch me if I faint, before I hit my head on the baptismal font.

I have to go out there in front of almost 200 people! And speak. Something that I wrote. It's weird, I don't really love sharing my writing with people, but then again, I'm writing a blog. Stupid, I guess.

But, I hope I'll have a good time, and that there isn't too much grinding at the dance! I don't want to go through THAT with my pure virgin eyes.

They might not like it that much. My eyes, I mean.

But on the other hand, I'm terribly sad, because next year, more than half the class isn't going to my high school! I love them all so much, and now they're going to be gone. We're so close-knit, too. We're all going to cry! I know I'll be bawling.

Well, on that spirited and firey note, I will leave you.

Hasta La Vista,

emma eldon