ROC: Real Online Christians

ROC....yea i didnt know what it meant either, until last week. i was chatting w. Christina's father in law...his name's Todd. he's kool as kool can be. anywayz we were chatting on Gchat like we normally do and i couldnt figure out what to blog about. i asked him if he had any ideas bcuz he's full of really good ideas!

ok so back to ROC...Todd gave me these initials at the end of our chat and i was totally lost. he told me those were initials for something & for the life of me i couldnt figure it out! so then he slowly told me what each letter meant...Real Online Christians.

by this point of our conversation i was TOTALLY lost...i mean "Real Online Christians"...what's that mean?? then we began a mini-question & answer session; me asking a lot of the questions(it was a rough night for my brain!) i asked questions having to do w. what my basis would be. at first i thought he was edging towards how most people now adays don't know us personally but only by our online profiles. but i was on the wrong thinking pattern.

Todd then asked me the question: "do you think God wants us to be cyber...or his He kinda like old skool? you need to look into each other's eyes" he was referring to online chats, sermons, and full church services. in reply to his question & statement i made this statement: "so we're becoming disconnected while trying to connect w. God @ a convenient level?"

then it hit me...i could run far w. this, real far. then he told me that this was my generation, i agreed but then said that none of my generation reads my blog. i may be wrong but idk, i mean i dont get any feedback from any of my generation that acknowledge my blog even exists.

he agreed w. me and then said that they may not read my blog but they are indeed cyber. he noted some truths about my generation that are rather, well true. check this: Generation Y(1981-1994) are known as the "first digitals" or "echo boom." this is because we were born into the rise of the information age. we don't even "watch" the news to get the news we go online to Facebook or Myspace or even a blog to get the latest news/TRUTH. then theres Generation Z(1995-present) also known as the iGeneration because they are very young, active consumers and very connected being born into a world of digital technology. This is all very real considering that each generation is born into the most advanced technological periods in relation to their time.

here's the main point of all this explanation; you can't find the truth, the REAL truth, on facebook, myspace, blog or podcast. none of that can give you the information that you need to know or the direct contact that we, as humans, need. sure there are people in this world that would like to contradict EVERYTHING i just said because i know there are people that believe anything and everything that they read, see, or hear online is the truth and nothing but the truth.

on the other side of things, there are people that know the REAL truth and don't share it because they have an online personna. they are known online as being someone or something that they really aren't in everyday life. i admit that i say/do things online vs real life and they contradict each other but that's the whole reason i started a blog. to me, a blog is real life. whether its online or not, its kinda like laying it all out on the table.

there ya have it ppls...the blog ive been concealing for the last week or so. in closing i have 2 questions for you, my readers. Do we have to look someone in the eye to get the 'TRUTH'? my opinion: no, you just need to know the source. ive been transparent w. y'all tonight so would you be transparent w. me? does anyone else have two people behind one face?; one online and one in the real world? id like to know that im not alone here ppl! ;) hit me back

**thanks to Todd(chatting) & Wikipedia(generation info)

Just Thinkin'

ok so i was just thinkin' today that i needed to blog and i had the perfect blog in mind...and then it happened, i forgot!!! that's right ppls, I forgot.

i know it happens but i dont like it. it could happen at the worst time too. i mean come on!!! well i do have some rather exciting news...i got my bottom braces off!! i now have a retainer. which means, that i cant chew gum. i have to take it out when i brush, eat, and sleep. it feels so nice to not have any metal blocking my bottom teeth! ;)

on another note, i still have my top braces. i cant get those off until i get oral surgery. i got a tooth pulled last november and it still hasnt come in yet. so, they have to cut my gum, attach a bracket to that tooth, attach a chain to the bracket, attach that chain to the wire that holds my brackets on my top teeth. then, while they tighten my braces, they will slowly pull down this obviously forbidden tooth!!

idk but i just cant wait bcuz i've had these braces long enough! im working on another blog...its coming tonite or tomorrow but either way...its coming!! ;) i promise

Weekend Wrap-Up

okay so this will be a weekly thing. its gonna be a recap of how my weekend went and what kind of events occurred, if any!? i'm still gonna do blogs during the week but this will just give you an insight on what my days off are like! ;)

my weekend started early. i was done my school work for the week on friday. that was my goal considering i was going away. i went to Hershey,PA for a women's retreat. we left @ 10AM on friday morning and returned @ 330PM on saturday. theres a group of about 15-20 women from my church that go every year. this year there was 12 of us. the grand total of women @ this retreat was 3,000. that's right ppls there was actually 3,000 women in one room at one time! ;) it was an awesome time of worship, God, fellowship, & The Word!

after returning home on saturday afternoon, i had some chill time to check on web stuff. then, @ about 430PM i went to Scott & Debra's for Emma's 1st B-Day party. we know she's only one but celebrating any birthday is always fun. there was a mini-quiz that i thought i would win. i didnt but Jeremy did. the prize: a $25 gift card to Olive Garden! after the quiz we hung out for a bit then headed home...it was getting late and we had church in the morning.

we got home and sat around for a bit then, everyone went to bed. i was still up chatting on facebook. i was sooo tired but i couldnt sleep. i was up until about 2AM-230AM. thats a tad bit depressing when you know you have to get up early in the morning. i've been soo tired lately. soo tired and in a lil more pain than id like to handle. thursday night = 5 hrs...friday night = 5.5 hrs...saturday night = 7 hrs...all together this weekend i got 17.5 hrs of sleep...can you say ugh!!

on top of being tired beyone belief, my back and shoulder hurt. okay before i go any further, i want to let you know that yes, i am complaining. why?...bcuz its my blog and i can do what i want to, do what i want to...you get the picture. anywayz so my shoulder is killing me and yesterday the weirdest thing happened to my back. i was stepping over the boys' toy bin and a sharp pain shot up the middle of my back. i was debilitated for about 10 secs, it took the breath right out of me. it kinda scared me bcuz i didnt know what it was!

then, after church and the membership meeting, i was just standing there and talking to my friend Ian when it happened again. i had to walk it off so i excused myself. he wasnt sure what was goin on but i told him before i left.

speaking of church, it was pretty descent. PB hit some MAJOR points that we, as a church body, should all be aware of. he was being very transparent w. us and, to me, that's AWESOME! it always puts a smile on my face when PB is transparent or real w. us. he does it because he cares & idk how to explain it but its just soo kool. i mean come on, he listens to some of the music that we, as youth, listen to && he can talk to us and we can talk to him heart-to-heart as if we were best buds. yet, there's still that sense of superiority, ya know??

ok enough babbling...i gtg 2 bed. im sooo tired & exhausted & hurting. OMGSH i almost forgot to tell you...i get my bottom braces off tomorrow morning!! how kool is that!?!?! ok well im not sure what color im getting my retainer yet but i'll figure it out when i get there! ;)

peace out ppls
~Kali

Away

thats right...im away. im actually in Hershey, PA @ the Women's retreat w. my church. awesome stuff...well its just a quick post before i go to bed but i just wanted to let you know that i didnt forget about you all out there in blog world! ;)

i'll be back as soon as i get home. i will start posting about daily life now that im done w. my Guatemala posts.

~peace out ppls! ;)
Kali

Last & Final Day: Day 8

10/25

today was rough...i mean i knew today would be the day we left & i knew it would be hard but it was harder than Tijuana....we were more connected to the people in Tijuana but here i just felt such a heart-felt connection.

here's how it went: i woke up, had breakfast, & Fontaine shared w. us how he ended up in Guatemala w. his family...then we watched a short clip about how him and his wife adopted their son(video @ bottom of blog) -- i must admit, i started to cry then we parted & finished cleaning up. John arrived @ about 1015am so we could start packing the van. Fontaine took a picture of all of us w/John & we left.

on the way to the airport i had my music on & i was tearing up a little. then we got to the airport & went inside...i was okay after that. we got to the check-in and checked our baggage. we received our boarding passes and then had to pay an exit fee. John was with us until we went through the exit door...he hugged me & i started tearing up. then he looked @ my face & squeezed hi to make it look like a pouty face. (i was trying sooo hard NOT to cry)

i giggled & kept moving...i got my ticket checked and said "bye John!" and walked through the door to be w. PB & Lisa. then i looked @ Lisa and she hugged me and i started crying. PB asked if i was okay and i shook my head 'yes' because i couldn't talk. then we all started going down the steps & waving our final goodbyes. i was balling like a baby(i shouldnt have looked back)...we got to our gate and i was talking to Lisa @ the seats and i was telling her how leaving here is WAY different than leaving Tijuana...ugh!! just writing about it is hard.

i was looking @ my ticket and im in row 19 as i was on the other flights. i then told Lisa how i think that's my lucky #. she agreed with w. me and then i said that i'm gonna be 19 next year and she said that she was thinking that too (whoa!) then, i was on the plane before i started writing and i read my journal entry from the 19th of October. that's the day that it all came together for me. thats the day that God gave me the verse i was supposed to use in my devotional. that was it!...i dont know but for me, that's craziness.

well, we got on the plane and i started journaling. i had to cut it short because i started crying again. Batman w. George Clooney was our movie but i didnt wanna watch it. i sat in my seat and looked out the window, looked at some of George's pictures, slept, cried; yes, i was still crying.

i fell asleep before the landing and woke up when we landed. it was raining and i had my headphones on. when we landed i like jumped and looked @ Shmeil as every passenger began clapping. i asked him what happened and he told me we did a little fishtailing before we landed. i told him a warning would've been nice ;) he said he was thinking about it...oh well i guess its the thought that counts.

after we got off the plane, we went through reverse immigration, waited FOREVER for our bags and then met Inga, Kombole, and Judy K. @ the entrance. we all hopped in the van and PB drove, yet again.

we settled in the van and i put my headphones on and dozed off. we stopped @ a rest stop real quick and got right back in the van. my "anti-social" attitude, as Scott calls it, continued until we had a discussion about what we experienced. we all shared and then got home. Christina picked George, Josh, and I up. we dropped the guys off @ their places and went home. once i got settled at the house, i couldnt stop talking about the trip. Ian, Mike Lynn, Christina, and i all played Rockband until 2am and then i crashed just to get up @ 8am for church. its gonna be a big day tomorrow. we're all sharing what we experience in Guatemala.

-->gotta go now...im beat! ;)
peace,
~Kali

p.s. -- here's the link to the video of how the Greene Family adopted Kevin.

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/257443?fr=yvmtf