Bladesinger

I understand that keeping up godly behavior can be a struggle when you're with people who encourage ungodly behavior. I think a really good practical thing for you to do to help with this is to read your Bible every day. Having the Word of God enter your mind every day makes it a lot easier to remember God when you go about your daily life. If you feel forced (like you're not being yourself) when you're around non-Christians, that's a good sign you're on the right track, haha. But I do want to say that while grades are important, so are friends. Especially if your friends share your faith, they can be a really really great asset. Welcome to high school, and good luck! (tip: make friends with the administration! Learn their names. It is so worth it.)

Welcome back, Bryce! Digging the profile picture

I'm speaking of the new Earth. I didn't realize we'd have the same bodies! I always assumed only our spirits would go on to live with God. I guess I wasn't reading closely enough! That's really cool and makes sense now that I think about it. Thanks for your answer.

Hello Eugene! I'm excited to have you with us! It's really cool that you have a blog.

I've been wondering to what extent—if at all—personal identity exists in Heaven. What I mean by this is when we arrive at Heaven, will we be able to recognize each other as who we were on Earth? I feel like the answer is no. I also remember being told by my mom years ago that marriage doesn't exist in heaven—as in, a couple who was married on Earth would not be married in Heaven. If Heaven is eternal life with God, and we will be praising Him for all eternity, is identity necessary? Are there any passages of scripture that elucidate this? It comes to mind because a man from church, only a few years older than me, took his life a couple of weeks ago (TOTAL shock). At the service, I heard people say "We'll see him again in Heaven." But that made me think about whether or not that was really true—while of course our individual souls ascend to Heaven, will we be really be able to identify each other? Will we even care? Thanks for any insight.

The Electric Edge of Academe: The Saga of Lucien L. Nunn and Deep Springs College. For the most part, a biography of the founder—L. L. Nunn—of Deep Springs College, an extremely rigorous all-male two-year liberal arts college in the Nevadan/Californian high desert. It's celebrating it's hundredth anniversary this year. I plan on applying, and I'm getting my hands on as much information as I can, hence my order of this book. They may be accepting women for the first time next year. Both the story of Nunn's life and the story of the college are fascinating, so if you're into academia and/or biographies, this would be a good one to pick up.

I think the subject matter is what matters most. I don't think any one specific style of music is inherently bad, but if the songs you listen to are promoting violence or a sinful lifestyle, or you find that listening to a type of music increases feelings of anger or other unwanted emotions, I would quit listening to it.

That's so cool, Willow!! I will definitely pray for your success in this endeavor! I think the support of that senior will be valuable in being a leader among high schoolers. If you feel that it fits with your mission, you could ask that participants purchase their own books, but I understand why that may be unappealing. FOX's resources will be great, too. Good luck!! I mean, God be with you!

I love this, Marvin It's awesome that you're listening to the Holy Spirit. Refraining from masturbation is not only good for the soul, but once you've gotten out of it, most people feel more confident and just generally happier. Plus they have a whole lot more free time lol

I've seen Angel Beats, Free! Iwatobi Swim Club, Chrono Crusade, and Parasyte

I think most people who draw digital art use tablets. They can get expensive once you get to higher-end. Basically you hok up the tablet to your computer, and you have a stylus that you use to draw on the surface of the tablet. Whatever you draw transfers to the screen, and you can use your computer's software (Photoshop, GIMP, Pixia, what-have-you) to edit the picture as you please. I also have no idea how anyone makes good art with a mouse. It's incredibly difficult. Good luck! Good art skills are something I really admire in a person, and I want to get better at it myself. I have a book on how to draw manga, so that's mainly what I draw when I do draw. But I still haven't drawn very much at all, so I'm not any good at it yet lol

*inside my head* THIS IS MY TIME TO SHINE Haha, I can see you liked Undertale from your profile pic I like that game too. Here are some titles in my library that have strong stories and characters: Bastion - developed by Supergiant games, who love story development. Their sophomore game, Transistor, also has a good story and a good lead. 2064: Read Only Memories - a narrative point-and-click game. Pretty humorous and quirky. People who enjoyed Undertale would like it. I haven't played through much of it, but I've enjoyed it so far. Cave Story+ - 2D RPG shooter-type. Fun. Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc - visual novel murder mystery with lots of quirky characters and plenty of character development. As it is a visual novel, it is very text- and story-heavy. Dark themes but I found its pacing and story really interesting. It's super suspenseful and the story gets really intense after a couple of chapters. It's one of my favorite games in my library. There's a sequel, too, and a third in development, and a spinoff, and some anime lol. Defender's Quest: Valley of the Forgotten - this is a lengthy tower-defense game. There is a sequel currently in development. Epic Battle Fantasy 4 - this one has fun characters, but I wouldn't say they're very fleshed-out or rounded. However, I included it just because it's one of my favorites and it has a silly story, but the gameplay is cool. Idk, I just feel like you might like it. It shares a similarly child-like quality with Undertale. It's a turn-based RPG. The fifth installment is currently in development: x Ori and the Blind Forest - this is easily the most visually beautiful game in my library. And auditorily beautiful, at that. I think I just made up that word. What I'm trying to say is, it has a good soundtrack. (I actually learned ThePandaTooth's piano suite of it—it's on YouTube—well, most of it.) It has a really good storyline. The game is hand-painted and the score is performed by a real orchestra. Highly recommended. Get the definitive edition, it's the same price and it expands upon the original just a bit. Don't know why they didn't release it as an update to the original, lol. Pid - I never finished this one, but it's pretty interesting. You play as a boy who gets stranded on a planet and there's like some robot conspiracy or something. You have a gadget that lets you influence gravity. Interesting more for its mechanics than anything else. Ys Origin - this a hack n' slash. I don't typically enjoy hack n' slashes that much, but this one is seriously good. It's the most played game in my library, with 108 hours. Heavy on characterization. Uhhh, I just wrote a lot. PM me if you have any questions!! Or recommendations for me, lol

Though I have stayed away from masturbation from a while, it still, of course, remains an ongoing temptation. many days are quite easy now that I've begun to live without it, but some days there is pressure. I have found this subreddit to be a useful resource: NoFap—even if you don't use Reddit, it is encouraging and many guys share tips and stories on how to stay pure. It is not a Christian community (that is to say, most people on it are not Christians), and it is very informal, but if you guys need extra support, taking a look at this might be a good idea for you and of course my inbox is open Edit: NoFapChristians