For the Speech/Debate Nerds among us...

I know some of you are out there.

I just discovered THIS blog and if you are a speech and debate person it is absolutely imperative that you read it. It had Raymond and I in stitches for a good half hour.

Chandler, please publish a book.

Speech & Debate: my 3 year summary.

This year has concluded my final year of speech & debate. While I wasn't able to go to nationals this year, my brother, as you've probably heard, took FIRST place at Nationals. :)

You'd think that as a speaker/debater, I'd be able to come up with the words for this post -- but this post has been in-draft for weeks while I tried to think of how I wanted to put things.

Out of all the things I've learned in debate, one of the biggest things I've taken away is that it's okay to be speechless.

Yes.

Good speakers are good listeners, just like good writers are good readers, and good artists are good observers.

But even more than that, becoming a good speaker is not knowing how you want to communicate, but what you want to communicate. And more often than not, it takes a couple speechless, red-in-the-face moments in front of a crowd of people for me to realize what my message really is, and why I'm doing this in the first place. We have to be vulnerable before we can be strong.

It's the grueling pain of experience that makes your message powerful and passionate.

You see...you really have almost no control over your own coherency during a speech & debate tournament. At least, I don't. I don't know about other people. But sometimes I have great rounds and sometimes I have terrible rounds and while it sometimes may or may not have a relation to the amount of caffeine I've ingested, there really is no way to have complete control over the outcome.

Sometimes, I draw a totally ridiculous topic in impromptu, sit there dumbly for my entire prep time, and then get up and give a brilliant speech. Sometimes I draw a great quote but stumble over every other word. Sometimes I've got an ingeniously crafted response to my opponent's argument, and I still lose. Other times I win even though I made clear contradictions in my cases.

I've come to realize that you can't decide what the outcome is going to be. You can't choose how things will turn out and no matter how good you are, it doesn't mean you'll always do well.

Sure, there's a lot of style, talent, and personal love for it that goes into public speaking, but those are not the things that make you a good communicator.

What makes you a good speaker is your passion for your message that you are sharing.

Communicating is not about getting other people to do things, or trying to make them understand you, and it's certainly not about winning a medal. It is not about proving to others you are more right than someone else,

Communicating is about sharing what you love with those around you. It's about taking that passion that you have and allowing it to run wildly into the lives of others so that they can experience the same delight that you have.

Communicating is about letting your message be your energy, when you have none. About letting what you have to say be the thing that drives you even when you think you can't keep going. And you don't need things to be just so in order to share it, either.

I had a persuasive round this year that was absolutely horrible. I forgot a line said something dumb like "oops I'm sorry, I lost my place...>AWKWARD PAUSE< and stumbled over my words. It was semi-finals.

But what I've learned is that God doesn't need me to be up to my standards of perfection in order to share His message.

In fact he even says, my grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weaknesses.

I'm not really sure how God's perfect strength could be "made perfect" through the weakness of a fallen, despicable human being -- but what I think this verse means is that this great, beautiful, mighty God can somehow work wonders through our shameful, awful weaknesses.

It's that moment you have...in a speech round, as you are reciting the speech you've practiced over and over again when suddenly, nothing in that moment is more important than your judge understanding and taking to heart what you have to say.

Through speech & debate I have learned the importance of hard work, the value of a small amount of time, and the precious closeness of some of my dearest friends. I have laughed, cried, sweated, and yes, literally bled. I have over 15 trophies and medals, at least a foot's height of judge's ballots, and am skilled in the art of packing for a 3-day tournament in under 2 hours.

In 20 years though, my guess is those trophies will be in a box somewhere. They won't last, but what will are the messages and truths I have learned.

There are many chapters of my life which I am not ready to close. Many which I have clung to desperately as if my identity depended on them, things I could not let go for fear that without it I might not know who I was.

But this time I okay with the ending, because I know that the experiences I have gained will go with me from years to come. I have taken something powerful from this.

It may have been my last year of speech, but my life as a communicator does not end there -- the end of this chapter is just the beginning of a new one. I'm off, I'm running, arms open to the experiences and adventures ahead.

I have no words.

But the NATIONAL CHAMPION FOR EXPOSITORY SPEAKING.....has some pretty good ones.

That's right folks. I'm proud to say I'm related to this kid, who WON NATIONALS, who is pretty much one of the most awesome brothers ever, and has, to my knowledge, given the state of Washington its first ever speech-championship title in the hall of fame.

Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to present to you The Art of Storytelling.

That's Right.

My brother's humorous interpretation of the math textbook "The Life of Fred" is FEATURED ON THE LIFE OF FRED WEBSITE.

Check it out.

I'm so proud of this kid. Right now he's competing at Speech & Debate Nationals, with his epic debate analogies and wicked amazing expository speech. As are my beloved club members. So missing them right now.

Update (4/8): LE BROTHER IS IN SEMIS AT NATIONALS. :)

UPDATE (4/9): FINALS FINALS FINALS OH MY GOODNESS RAYMOND IS IN FINALS.

What I Do When I'm Supposed To Be Writing A Speech.

Pardon the disheveled sort of look. It's late at night. Aforementioned speech may or may not be posted for the public to view.

Endeavors in Creativity.

This week and next week are finals weeks for me at school (which might explain the lack of blog posts...my mind has been completely consumed by....numerous other things).

However, as part of my Chinese final, we were instructed to come up with an oral presentation representing some of the things we had learned.

I, being the speech nerd that I am, decided that it would be fun to poke fun at the lessons (which include strangers meeting and asking each other out that day.) and turn it into a humorous interpretation.

The presence of a video will not so much as touch any social media, but here is my script (and it's translation, since google translate fails) for your enjoyment. Imagine overdramatized, romantic sighs and voices, if you please.


Mark:　你好。　
Wenxin:　你好！
Mark:　我叫Mark。 你呢？
Wenxin:　我叫王文欣。 你是美国人马？
Mark:　不是。 我是加拿大人。
Wenxin:　(sigh)
Mark:　你是中国人吗？
Wenxin:　(nods)　我是上海人。　你喜欢上海吗？
Mark:　上海很美。　我喜欢上海。
Wenxin: (sigh)
Mark:　你去哪里？
Wenxin:　我去上海东路。
Mark:　太巧了！　我也去上海东路！
Wenxin:　(giggle)
Mark:　上海厨房在上海东路！
Wenxin:　 為什麼？
Mark:　我想请你吃饭。
Wenxin: 现在吗？
Mark:　对。　
Wenxin:　(sigh)　是的！
Mark: 好。(dials phone)
Wenxin:　(sigh)　
Waiter：喂， 您好， 这 里是上海 厨 房。
Mark:　喂，　你好。　我想预订座位。
Waiter:　午餐　还是　晚餐？
Mark:　午餐。　
Waiter:　好的。　请问－
Mark:　啊！不要了。 我要晚餐。
Waiter:　午餐？
Mark:　对。
Waiter:　 好的。 请问， 你们几位？
Mark:　三十六 位。
啊呀！　三十六位吗？！
Mark:　啊?!　不对！　两位。
Waiter:　你们要包房吗？
Mark:　ｍｍｍ。。。我要，谢谢。
Waiter:　请问，您贵姓？　
Mark:　我姓Smith。　
Waiter:　好。谢谢。 再见！
(at restaurant)
Mark:　文欣，你很美。　
Wenxin: (giggle) 谢谢你！
Mark:　文欣，　我爱你。你愿意嫁给我吗？
Wenxin: (gasp) 啊！ Mark! 我爱你！ 我会嫁给你！


Mark:　Hey.　
Wenxin:　oh! hello!
Mark:　My name is Mark. ::prince charming grin:: And you?
Wenxin:　My name is Wenxin. Are you...from America?
Mark:　Oh no -- I'm from CANADA.
Wenxin:　(sigh)
Mark:　Are you from China?
Wenxin:　Yes -- I'm from Shanghai. Do...do you like Shanghai?
Mark:　Shanghai is very beautiful. I like Shanghai. ;)
Wenxin: (sigh)
Mark:　Where are you going to?
Wenxin:　I'm going to Shanghai East Road.
Mark: What a coincidence! I'm going to Shanghai East Road.
Wenxin:　(giggle)
Mark:　Ah! Shanghai Kitchen is on Shanghai East Road!
Wenxin:　 Why?
Mark:　I would like to ask you out to dinner.
Wenxin: Now?
Mark: Yes. 　
Wenxin:　(sigh)　oh, yes!
Mark: Good. (dials phone)
Wenxin:　(sigh)　
Waiter：Hello. This is the Shanghai Kitchen.
Mark:　Hello. I would like to reserve a seat.
Waiter:　Lunch or dinner?
Mark:　Lunch.　
Waiter:　Okay. Please may I--
Mark:　Ah! No. I want dinner.
Waiter:　Dinner?
Mark:　Yes.
Waiter:　 Okay. Please may I ask, how many people?
Mark: ::lovesick:: Hhhmmm?
Waiter: ::ahem:: I said, how many people?
Mark:　uuhhh....um, thirty six?
Waiter: What? 36?!
Mark:　Ah! No, no, no. Two people.
Waiter:　Do you want a private room?
Mark:　mmm....yes, I do. (looks lovingly to Wenxin)
Waiter:　Please, what is your surname?
Mark:　My last name is Smith.　
Waiter:　Good. Thank you, goodbye.
(at restaurant)
Mark:　Wenxin, you are so beautiful. 　
Wenxin: (giggle) aww...thank you!
Mark:　Wenxin. I love you. Will you marry me??
Wenxin: (gasp) Mark! I love you too! I will marry you!

Needless to say, my class seemed to enjoy it, and I had fun giving it.

再见！

Optical Illusion.

{Part 2 of 2 posts that are somewhat related....heh. This is the [more refined] impromptu speech I gave at Nationals. This version might be slightly longer than what I gave....but hey.}

Wait! No! realized I've never posted about Nationals! (this is not the speech, btw)

Real quick, here's a run down.

It didn't quite feel like Nationals because I didn't have anything to work on. No speech to worry about, no debate case to go over, nothing to memorize or freak out about.

...except impromptu.

But the thing about impromptu, as I mentioned last time, is that it's not something you can think about, it's something God gives you - it's something you just do. And going into the tournament I so desperately wanted God to do something with my speeches - with me. My first two rounds were kinda bad....I mean, they'd have done fine at a qualifier level - but they definitely weren't national quality, and it was really discouraging.

My last round however, was the best. The funny thing was that I got to the end of my prep time and the only thing I had written on my paper was "we walk by faith, not by sight." (ironic, isn't it?)

I had nothing in my head. I literally thought, "Oh crud. I'm a nationally qualified speaker, there is actually an audience in here, and I have nothing. I'm going to get up and embarrass myself in front of everyone."

But as I got up there, God gave me the passion, the words, and the examples. Just right there - right as I needed them.

Isn't He amazing?

So here you are.

As you probably noticed, I have glasses - as some of you do as well. And to get your prescription for your glasses, you go to the eye doctor. Now if you've ever been to the eye doctor, you probably know those funny pictures they give you - little optical illusions that don't make any sense - and then ask you absurd questions like "how big is the ladybug NOW?" and supposedly make a lot of sense out of it.

Usually, it doesn't make much sense - to us - but optical illusions really don't. That's why they're called illusions - to give us a feeling or a sensation of something that isn't really quite the truth. And what I'd like to talk about today is just that - optical illusions - how things aren't always as they seem. First I'd like to look at this in a historical example, next in my own life, and lastly how I see God working in optical illusions.

Helen Keller - we all know who she is - the girl who was blind and deaf. The entire world must have seemed like an optical illusion to her. Can you imagine growing up not being able to see or hear the world around you? Yet she went on to lead an extremely normal life. She may not have been able to see or hear, but that didn't mean that the whole world was as she saw it. She learned to overcome the challenges she met.

But how about my life? In summer of 2009, my family left my church - a church I had grown up in and learned from for years. I was just becoming involved in a lot of ministries and finding a place I felt able to serve God in. I was growing, learning, and getting to know God - and I couldn't understand why in the world God would take me away from something that brought me closer to Him.

To this day, leaving that church still seems like an illusion to me, and I still don't fully understand why God did it.

But that is the beauty of an optical illusion, and how God works in our lives.

Let me take you back to the example in the beginning - about the eye doctor. See, I can't make any sense of what's going on with the crazy illusions the eye doctor puts in front of my face - but the eye doctor knows exactly what's going on, and he's got a reason for everything that he sticks in front of my face.

And my God, my beautiful, wonderful Savior - He is the great eye doctor, and He knows exactly why He places various things in our lives. We may not understand or be able to make sense of the things in life, but we can rest assured, knowing that our God has a greater plan in mind.

I have a little bookmark at home, with a picture of a giant, furry dog on the front - with so much fur, in fact, that it covered his eyes completely. And the caption on the front said "We walk by faith, not by sight."

It's an amusing picture, but it's so true. Sometimes we are angry at the way we are made or the circumstances in our lives because we feel it hinders us or is keeping us from something more - as I'm sure Helen Keller felt, and I know I felt when I left church.

But in Paul's letter to the Corinthians he encourages us that "our light affliction is but for a moment - and is nothing compared to the exceeding glory we will experience when we spend eternity with Christ."

We walk by faith - and not by sight. See, Paul goes on to say that the things which are seen - are temporary. But the things that are not seen, are eternal. For what is hope, if you already see it? For you do not hope in what you see - but what you do not see.

My challenge to you today is to remember, that we walk by faith, and not by sight. So often I think, "yeah, we walk by faith, that's easy." But in the face of an illusion that I simply do not understand - it's not as easy as it sounds. But I can peacefully rest in the knowledge that I worship a God who does not fail - and who holds me in the palm of His hand.

Next time you see an optical illusion, don't let it remind you of the confusion, but of the Creator - who has a plan - because He who has begun a good work in you - will complete it. Thank you.

This is what I do in debate.

We're nerds, asians, debaters, and we've been at speech camp all week pretending to act mature under the cleverly disguised title of "super-varsity." What can we say?

Check it out on Shorty & Shrimpy's blog. :D

In case you were worried

As blog readers rarely are, but just to reassure myself that I am reassuring you that I have not fallen off the face of the earth, here I am.

I'm suffering from a terrible case of post-speech-tournament-disorder and withdrawals from lack-of-seeing-speech-friends.

Because of this, brain simply refuses to put the thoughts and events of the the 2011 NCFCA National tournament into understandable English. I am, however, extremely grateful for your prayers and thoughts. It was a marvelous tournament and I not only enjoyed it, but learned a few things as well. A thorough and more serious update is in the makings, I promise.

My life is an impromptu speech.

I remember my thought process last year - my first year in speech.

First-or-second-week-of-speech-club.

Coach: "Impromptu is a limited prep. event where you draw three topics, and you have 2 minutes to prepare a 5-minute speech on one of the topics."

Me: [thinking] "Who in their right mind would do that?! I bet that's the least popular event."

Coach: "This event usually fills up the fastest."

Me: [inside] " o.O "

But hey. I was here to improve my speaking skills, not cower in a corner. So I told mom to sign me up.

The first time I tried it in club, I only talked for like a minute. My first topic in competition was "Endurance." I remember being so shaken after a barely 2-minute long speech that I completely forgot to shake the judges hand.

During the course of that year, I never managed to talk over about 2 and a half minutes - and over half my speeches ended with "SO! in this short, impromptu speech, we've seen that...." and one time I even had a judge tell me I defined a word incorrectly.

I made it through the first year, watched a round or so at nationals, drooled over how talented they were, and decided that while this was a great learning experience, I would never be at the point where I could really do well at this.

But the following summer (last summer) I went to speech camp - where I had one of my best impromptu rounds EVER. For some reason, it all of a sudden clicked. I had examples. I had somewhere I was going with the little quote scribbled on paper. I don't remember how long I talked but I think I made the 4:00 minute mark. =P

And for some reason, at that point, I started to realize that I couldn't try. I had to let God speak.

From that point on, as I competed in impromptu the following year (this year) God started to work really....really awesome things.

Starting with the Idaho tournament, I broke in impromptu. (meaning I made it to the next round.) I didn't make it to finals, but God gave me some AMAZING quotes and one of the best rounds in my whole life - and I ended up placing 12th.

At the next tournament in Bothell, God brought me all the way to finals and gave me 5th.

The tournament in Seattle is one I won't forget quickly. I didn't compete impromptu, and at that tournament, I didn't break at all - in any of my speeches.

For me, not breaking was kind of a...a weird thing. It felt like failure. I've broken at every single tournament I've ever been to in my life. (Note: not breaking is not equated with failure, as I have learned. But this year that's what it felt like)

But God used that to tell me that I was trying to do this by myself. I was trying to win on my own. Trying to be a good speaker and win trophies and medals. So He made all my speeches get low enough rankings to not break - simple as that.

Come the STOA tournament in Mount Vernon not 2 weeks ago, I wasn't in it for the competition. Just for the experience, for sharing my message.

Every single speech broke.

Is it just me, or do you think God knows we can't do things by ourselves? ;)

At regionals last week, I was really struggling with this. Knowing that if I gave it to God, He could do great things with it - but if I tried to do this on my own, things would probably not work in my favor.

Yet knowing that God has a reason and plan whether I win or lose....meh. It's like you're worried that you'll jinx it or something. (like you could possibly jinx GOD...) You know? There's something beautiful about totally surrendering something to God, no ties, holding nothing back. But doing it again, and again, and again - I keep wanting to go back to doing it all by myself. Yet I know I can't, but I think that I can. Or I think "oh, God'll help me" and not really give it to Him. There are so many things to try and juggle in your mind. And the more you know about life, the more there is to juggle.

I think.

Anyway.

So regionals.

I really honestly can't remember how I went into this tournament. I remember last year, able to completely surrender it to God and let Him work.

Sad thing is, as an over-analyzer and one-with-a-good-memory (also one who blogs about such experiences), it's hard to....repeat that.

Which I guess, is why I have to live every day by the strength of Christ. Because I don't always have the ability to give up certain things to God...and I sort of have to let Him take them away.

(Please, take from me my life - when I don't have the strength to give it away to you, Jesus.) (Take my life, Third Day)

My best round at regionals was on the words "picture-perfect."

Oh, God, how amazing Your work is.

I talked about how we can't always be perfect. We try, we want to look good for others. We want to sound good, and make a good impression. But unless our lives are a response to God's work - a life dedicated to following Him and Him alone - trying to be "picture-perfect" is never going to cut it. We can't do it on our own.

I could go on, but I'll wrap up my story.

I broke.

At regionals. Kind of scary - I barely expected to break at the local level, much less at the state-wide level.

And I think I over-estimated myself. Over-analyzed it a bit too much. Tried a bit too hard. Because my semi-final round wasn't that good. It was okay, it wasn't like a failure...but it wasn't my best.

But at the same time, there was a kind of peace - that whatever God decided to do was okay, because....well, because He's God. He knows, and He's not doing anything in my life for some arbitrary reason.

I ended up placing 9th in impromptu.

If you're in speech, you know what that means - *one* place away from finals. Just one place away. Which means it wasn't as bad as I had thought.

But here's where God's plan really comes out.

I qualified for nationals.

o.O

Remember that girl, who gave 1 minute impromptu speeches, stumbled over her words, defined them incorrectly, and forgot to shake the judges hands? The girl who thought that NO ONE in their right mind would do impromptu?

She's qualified for nationals.

I don't say that to brag. I say that to say, LOOK AT HOW AWESOME MY GOD IS!!!!

Because friends, when you go into that impromptu room, you have NO idea what you're going to get. You could get a slogan, a single word, a few words, a phrase, or 4 lines of a quote by some philosopher - or even a picture of a Disney character.

It is ALL by the grace and power and strength of God.

One of my friends said impromptu is kind of a gamble. And it is, if you don't know who is writing your script.

See, I have nothing worth saying in this world - nothing worth doing, performing, making, or giving outside of who Christ is and what He has done. My life is nothing outside of Christ. But IN Christ? In the power of Christ? Oh, how powerful that is! When we allow God to speak through us? To realize that it's not about us, but merely that we are the instruments through which He chooses to orchestrate His marvelous work?

Every night, every day
I find that I have nothing left to say
So I stand here in silence awaiting Your guidance
I'm wanting only Your voice to be heard
Let them be Your Words

Give me Words to speak
Don't let my Spirit sleep
Cause I can't think of anything worth saying
But I know that I owe You my life.

(Give me words to speak, Aaron Shust)

As you're giving an impromptu speech - you've sort of planned out where you're going to go. But you don't always know what you're going to say next. And that's how God speaks. He feeds you ideas as you talk. Right when you need them.

My whole....life. It's an impromptu speech - 'cause God is writing it. I go into it not knowing what kind of topic I'm going to get. What kind of people, places, or things God's going to bring my way. What the outcome is going to be. But I know - oh! what blissful peace it is! To know that God will give me all that I need - because the only thing worth proclaiming in this life is Christ.

My semi-finals round wasn't that good. But I had peace knowing that God could do what He wanted with it - and He did.

My life doesn't always look that great, and I don't always sound that eloquent, dress that fashionably (sometimes I still look like I'm in my awkward childhood stage), or know why something's happening. But God can do whatever He wants with whatever happens because He's the one in charge.

1 Cor. 2:2 ~ For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Please pray that as I go to Nationals this week that I will let God speak. All I'm competing in is Impromptu, and I don't want to psych myself out about it - I want to let God speak and not try to be good. You know, I've blogged about all this, but once I put it into words it almost makes it harder to live it out because I know what results I want. But it's not the results I should aim for - it's sharing Christ. And I don't have to break to semi-finals to do that. Please, please pray that His words will flow, and not mine.

Alright, let's recap this whole life thing.

So.

::squint::

I believe there are still a few blog readers out there?

::squint::

Maybe just a couple. I've been rather negligent, haven't I?

(is that the right word? It sounds right, anyway.)

(just kidding, I looked it up on google, so it is the right word.)

I'm boring you, aren't I? Well buckle up, because I'm going to like post about all the tournaments, in like, one post. Are you ready? (that was too many likes in one sentence...)

The tournament season started out fast and furious this year with the Id-a-HO! tourney! In which Bec placed FIRST with her AWESOME humorous, she and her brother placed FIRST in duo, my dramatic placed 6th, and RAYMOND PLACED 2ND IN HIS ORIGINAL SPEECH! I also managed to BREAK IN IMPROMPTU, which was kind of amazing/shocking/amazing/shocking.


Despite all awesomeness of the tourney, I came home and promptly got a 101 F fever which refused to go away all week, despite the amount of work I had to do.

Barely following the week I was sick - was the Puget Sound tournament!! By far one of the most enjoyable, relaxing, and fun. I don't remember what my speeches got, except that I broke to FINALS in impromptu, and placed 5th. Yeah. Kind of mind blowing. My God is really awesome.

(this is DI....semis, I think? yeah, semis.)

My brother and his duo partner (who have like the most awesome duo ever) made finals for their duo. That was pretty epic.

Next I had a lovely 3-week break (in which I did NOT get sick!) until the NEXT tourney, which was at Seattle Pacific University.

This tournament was probably the worst tournament all year. Sort of an emotional roller coaster and I didn't break with any of my speeches. It was, however, the biggest qualifier in the nation, and Raymond placed very well in all 3 of his speeches. But God did some pretty amazing things at that tournament too - like teaching me that I'm not doing any of this in my own strength.


They gave us foot-long sub sandwiches (and nothing else) everysingleday for lunch. Yeah. I have a love/hate relationship with subway now, thanks to that.

After this qualifier, there was somewhat of a break, I believe, before the STOA tournament. This tournament was pretty laid back (could be because I didn't debate :P ) but I ended up breaking in ALL 4 of my events (crazy compared to last time) and...it was just really cool how when I wasn't in it to win, and was in it just for the fun of it and the message I had to share, that God was able to bring me farther with it.

This is our amazingly epic club sign. It used to be really dull, so we took it down and re-designed it on the back: starting a trend and thus influencing about 4 other clubs to do the same. None of them was as awesome as ours though. :)


This picture has a rather interesting story to it. From Left to Right is Paul, Micaela, Conor, and me. Paul and I were duo impromptu partners, and Michaela and Conor were partners as well. We were all wearing red, but the funny bit was that Paul's red matched Michaela's, and my red matched Conor's. Paul and Michaela were also both wearing grey, and Conor and I were in all black. Hehehe.
Duo impromptu is WAY TOO MUCH FUN. You go in, draw three places, three conflicts, and three sets of 2 characters, and combine them to make a really whacky story. It's great fun. :)

16th place for duo impromptu was NOT expected, and was ridiculously fun. This is the president of STOA, Mr. York.

This was either impromptu, dramatic, or original oratory, but I don't remember which. :P

This is the flier for the DO HARD THINGS conference in July. You should all come, because it's going to be AMAZING. And as you might be able to tell, I was just a little bit excited. :)


Okay, so maybe I'm *slightly* easily amused....

Lots of stories and pictures from regionals coming soon.... :)

Joy: an NCFCA/Stoa Original Oratory

An NC-st-orato-what?

NCFCA and Stoa are speech and debate leagues. An Original Oratory is a just a normal speech with nothing particularly fancy in it.

Since a lot of people have posted awesome speeches on their blogs, I thought I'd try doing the same. (I'll make you the judge of it's awesomeness or non-awesomeness) I posted an excerpt of it a week or so ago, but here's the whole thing.

Please pardon all of the parenthetical citations. Speech. You know. :P And for some reason blogger wouldn't copy the font/formatting from word, so I had to wrestle with it a bit. As a result, sometimes the font randomly changes.

Do you know why you’re sitting here, judging me today? Why am I standing here, giving you a speech? Why do you read books, watch movies, listen to music, or study a subject? If you analyze the “why” of everything, you can always trace it back to one thing: happiness. Everything you do is either to make yourself happy or to make someone else happy: whether consciously or not.

Baruch Spinoza, a Dutch Philosopher(Baruch, Wiki), said that: “what everyone wants from life is continuous and genuine happiness.” (Spinoza)

Why? Because when we are happy, it gives us a feeling of satisfaction; of contentment. It makes us feel secure not only in ourselves and our abilities, but also in the world around us. Different things make different people happy – laughter, friendship, surprises, gifts, vacations.

But what happens when these things are taken away? What happens when they’re gone? Should happiness really be our focus? Today, I would like to present to you a different kind of happiness: joy. However not even that joy should be our focus: rather that the giver of joy – that is Jesus Christ – should be our focus, because true joy can only come from a close relationship with Him. First we’ll look at our natural desire for happiness and how it actually hinders us in our relationship with God. Next, we’ll see how happiness contrasts with joy. Lastly, we’ll see how we can truly experience joy in our lives.

As human beings with a nature to love and be loved, we all have different things that we cherish and treasure, things that make us happy, or give us a sense of security and control, and we have to take great care that they do not hinder our relationship with God – becoming an idol, and keeping us from true joy.

Over the years, I’ve had multiple different understandings of what idols are. When I was little, I thought idols were simply things like Buddha, or anything that you declared better than God.

But the older I got, I discovered more idols competing for my worship. It wasn’t just things you obsess over. And it didn’t have to be something I blatantly put ahead of God. In fact, the idols I found in my life were things that became more subconsciously ahead of God. Things I didn’t quite notice had taken God’s place – like family, friends, and activities.

In his book, “The Age of Opportunity” Paul Tripp presents a new way of seeing idols.

Put your hand up to your face and look through your fingers. Now turn your head about to see what's around you. No matter how you turn, your view will always be distorted by your fingers getting in the way.

The same is true with idols. Whatever we idolize becomes the mask through which we filter everything. The thing that distorts or tints our vision to see things a certain way.

And these aren’t just any idols. They’re different for each person, but they are specifically what makes you happy.

I found this particularly prominent in my social media/online life. As I would go about my daily tasks, the little things in life that I enjoyed or found interesting I would find myself instantly writing it in my head as a facebook status or blog post – because that had become a mask through which I filtered how I saw everything. It was what made me feel good about myself and who I was. It made me happy.

Another example of idols is that of people. We often picture the person we love as if they were always right next to us – their voice plays in our head, converses with us, and gives us advice. Why? Because that person is someone we value, and thus someone who makes us happy and gives us that sense of security and belonging. Instead of seeing things through God’s eyes, we start filtering it all through theirs.

These are idols. They not only hinder us from God but they become our very motive for living.

I often ask God to become real to me. To satisfy me. I want to hear God speak to me – to show me His will. But the powerful realization is that…if I have all these masks up that I’m seeing the world through, how can I clearly hear the call of God? He can’t speak to me when I’m filtering everything, including His words, through the distorted views that I hold.

God cannot give me joy when my desire for happiness is my focus. Instead the mask through which I filter everything should be God Himself. I can’t even be seeking after joy – but rather Christ, who gives joy.

So what exactly is joy? We often confuse joy with happiness. Everyone wants to be happy. But according to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word happiness comes from the word “hap”, meaning “luck” or “fortune.” (Online) Happiness or unhappiness is an immediate and natural reaction to a circumstance you are in. An immediate and natural reaction to a circumstance you are in. Have you ever noticed how one little thing can turn your day for the better – or for the worst?

I have little brothers. And I can be having a great day, and they can say one thing – and it can ruin the rest of my day. Sometimes it can ruin the rest of my week. Why? Because my feelings are based off of circumstances.

Joy, however, is different. Joy does not come from happenings or circumstances, and it does not disappear in the blink of a mood.

Habakkuk 3:17-18 says Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls—Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. (NKJV Hab 3:17)

In this translation, the New King James Version, the word “joy” is used as a verb: indicating that it is an action. Unlike the fleeting, temporary feeling of happiness, joy is a choice: driven by something so much more than just circumstances.

Pastor Earl Palmer, in his message “The Search for Joy”, looks at a definition of joy given by C.S. Lewis – He says that joy is a meaningful acceleration in the rhythm…of celestial experience. In the rhythm of our experience with God’s character. (Palmer)

Our experience with God’s character. How do we experience God’s character? When we strive for happiness, the results are the tangible things we can see and feel. But when circumstances turn against us, we don’t always know what God is doing or what the result is going to be – yet this is the confidence we have: that there is a greater, eternal purpose. Something that we cannot see that is far beyond our imagination.

This brings me lastly to how we can truly experience joy in our lives.

As we have seen, joy is not a feeling – rather it is a choice. But it’s more than just a choice: it’s total surrender to God’s will. It is not based on the worldly everyday events around you – but comes from God.

In summer of 2009, my family left our church – a church I had grown up in and learned from for years. Church ministry was something I had become really involved in and loved – and it was very hard for me to suddenly leave best friends, activities I had been involved in, and a place that had brought me closer to God. For a very long time, I let my immediate feelings rule me – to become the mask through which I saw everything. I was unhappy, depressed, and could not understand why God would take me away from something that brought me closer to Him.

But slowly, God began to show me a different way to see that situation, to take away the old mask and to give me a new one – and even today He continues to do so.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 says Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (NKJV 2 Cor. 4:15)

We may not know what God is doing – and we may not feel happy with our circumstances. But the apostle Paul says that we should be content, no matter what state we are in. (NKJV Phil. 4:11) Because this too, shall pass. Psalm 30:5 says weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. (NKJV Ps. 30:5)

It sounds cliché to say that I realized that God is with me no matter what the circumstance, and that He does have a perfect plan that only He can see. But this becomes such a beautiful truth when you simply don’t know what God is doing. It’s hard to choose to be cheerful when you feel just the opposite. But I discovered that when I was willing to give up my circumstance-based feelings completely to God – to surrender my desire for happiness for His desire for my life: He returned it with joy – joy that can only come from Him.

Happiness is a feeling – joy is a choice. We have seen how focusing on happiness can be an idol, and how happiness is different from joy. We’ve also seen how the choice of joy and a relationship with God can become real in our lives by seeking to the only One who can satisfy us completely. When we are willing to take that action, to come before God and surrender ourselves to Him, realizing that there is a greater – eternal – purpose that will bring glory to God: He will give us joy.

John 16:22 - Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you. (NKJV John 16:22)

Here we go again.

It's the week where you pack up about half of your life and drag it across the state.
Where your most prized possessions become your script submission forms.
Where you wear a suit day in and day out and don't look weird.
The kind of week where copious amounts of sugar, caffeine, and snack food is not unusual.
And where the only way you make it through is by the grace of God.
Prayers are most appreciated.

Tomorrow will be really relaxed, as will Friday. But on Thursday I get/have to do 4 debate rounds and 3 speech rounds. [insert appropriately already-exhausted-look here]

And somehow, I managed to forget to bring pajamas.

Again.

=P

Guess what today is?

April 8th!!! haha, bet you never would have figured that out by looking at the calendar or anything.

Actually, nowadays they look at cell phones and ipads. Huh.

Anyways. Today is April 8th. Well, actually, today is March 30th, but blogger has this spiffy and grand thing called "scheduled posts" and this is now set not to publish until April 8th. So in reality it really is April 8th.

This is weird. It's like I'm predicting the future or something.

Anyhow. Two very special things are happening today, and I shall award you brownie points if you can tell me the first one. The second one is not your duty to know, but you should know it anyway. (that was a contradiction, I think. oops. )

First off: DAWN TREADER COMES OUT ON DVD TODAY!!!

Oy, ain't it purty? I can't wait to get one. ;sladksdagh;adsf It's going to be so much fun and now we can have NARNIA MARATHONS. Anyone want to have one with me? I've always wanted to do that.

So, you should all go out to the shops and purchase your VERY OWN copy of this amazing movie. How cool is that? You can now legally own the movie in your home and watch it as many times as you please without having to trek down to the theatre multiple times. (not like any of you besides me would do that) (but you should still go buy it.)


Alright, next, a Very Awesome Movie is coming out today: Soul Surfer.

To say the least, I was rather ecstatic when I heard they were making this into a movie. It's about the life of Bethany Hamilton, who got her arm bit off by a shark while surfing, and today she's like a world-known surfer. I was hesitant about it at first, but as more clips have come out, it looks like they're sticking to Christian values and actually sharing Christian themes prominently in the movie. AFFIRMfilms is also in the production - they worked on Facing the Giants, Fireproof, The Grace Card, etc. All those awesome Christian films.

I'm excited about this film for a number of reasons:
1) AnnaSophia Robb is in it. I like her. :P
2) It's based off a true story
3) They promote Christian values
4) It's another good movie out there

Alright, so perhaps I'm being a little redundant. However, (for any of you who care to know) Carrie Underwood, who did the end credits song for Dawn Treader ("There's a Place for Us") stars in this movie as well. So you see Narnia really is connected to this in a roundabout sort of way. (I actually heard about this movie because Carrie Underwood appeared in our Narnia news feed during VDT's theatrical run. True Story.)

Trailer:



There's another movie coming out April 8th called "Hanna", which caught my attention for obvious reasons. It stars Saoirse Ronan, whom I'm a fan of only because she was in "The City of Ember." However, it...uh, looks really weird, and I'm not terribly sure about the values/themes presented, and it looks kind of dark. So, if any of you happen to see it, tell me what you think of it. You can't ever tell much from the trailers.

EDIT: so upon further investigation of the trailers and websites, it's apparently about a 16-year-old girl who is trained as an assassin all her life by her father, and then sent out into the world with one mission. (probably to assassinate someone.) It's apparently how she discovers that there's more to life than what she's been brought up to know, but that's sort of ambiguous. (it could be redeeming, making it a decent movie, but I doubt it.) Given what I know about it now, I doubt it's a very good movie.

Alright, that's all.

Oh! In case you were wondering, this post is scheduled because - guess what? I'm at a speech tournament. (no. way. I'm never at speech tournaments.)

Love, Hannah

A Lot of Logs.

The following is an cut/pasted excerpt from my original oratory in speech this year that I have been giving this week. And as I give it, I keep seeing God use it to speak to myself, to learn from it. Like a lot. This speech tournament has been a crazy up and down of emotion (they usually aren't like this. Great, huh?) and it's been really hard to keep my focus on Christ....to stay positive. You could pray for that today, as I go into semis and finals. (if I go to semis and finals. =P )


Have you ever noticed how one little thing can turn your day for the better – or for the worst?

I can be having a great day, and someone can say one thing – and it can ruin the rest of my day. Sometimes it can ruin the rest of my week. Why? Because my feelings are based off of circumstances.

Joy, however, is different. Joy does not come from happenings or circumstances, and it does not disappear in the blink of a mood.

It is one of the hardest things in the world to choose to be cheerful when circumstances turn against us. But when you take that simple step of obedience in surrendering to Christ that He will bring joy into your life.

Habakkuk 3:17-18 says Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls—Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. (NKJV Hab 3:17)

In this translation, the New King James Version, the word “joy” is used as a verb: indicating that it is an action.

It sounds cliché to say that I realized that God is with me no matter what the circumstance, and that He does have a perfect plan for everything. But this becomes such a beautiful truth when you simply don’t know what God is doing and you are left with no choice but to trust Him. I discovered that when I was willing to give up my circumstance-based feelings completely to Him – to surrender my desire for happiness for His desire for my life: He returned it with joy – joy that can only come from Him.

Happiness is a feeling – joy is a choice. We've seen how the choice of joy and a relationship with God can become real in our lives by seeking to the One who can satisfy us completely. When we are willing to take that action, to come before God and surrender ourselves to Him, realizing that there is a greater – eternal – purpose that will bring glory to God: He will give us joy. A happiness beyond words.

John 16:22 - Therefore you now have sorrow - but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice! And your joy no one will take from you.

Happiness. A lot of it.

Because tournaments are just that amazing.

And most unfortunately I don't have time to post very much right now except that...

I QUALIFIED FOR REGIONALS IN DEBATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And therefore have met the first of my large-ish goals for this year. Score.

I also made it to finals in impromptu, which I'll talk about more later, but it was very amazing. And I have lots of other amazing tournament things to tell you, but I have to scoot off to be productive, since I got behind on a lot of productivity during the tournament (most specifically productivity as it relates to educational...things)

Yup. Alrighty. That's all for now!

-Hnanah
because I typed my name wrong and then decided to leave it that way. who types their name wrong anyway? I'm guessing I'm not the only one, just most people backspace before making such an embarrassing mistake.

Alright now.

Poor blog. It's feeling neglected. As it is, there hasn't been much to write about lately. The Idaho tournament came and went, with much success, laughs, and fun all around. 'Twas a grand tournament. I came *this* close to qualifying for Regionals in debate, and qualified in both my Dramatic Interp and Impromptu. Raymond placed 2nd with his Original Oratory, and I'm sooooo proud of him.

The week directly following was supposed to be a super busy week filled with lots of speech writing and case-revamping, but I was ill all week and couldn't do much, which was rather irritating. So now I'm cramming for the tournament that starts tomorrow. Isn't that grand?

And it's supposed to SNOW tonight. Of all the worst ideas, it's supposed to SNOWLkjdfsa;f skdf seriously. It was supposed to snow in January. not right before a tournament. Eej. What's with you, Seattle?

In other news, thank you very much for voting on my video! Unfortunately, I didn't make the top 10, but I do get to play background music for the little event they're hosting, which should be fun.

Hm. Well, I think that's all the update I have for right now. sigh.

Oh, Oh, Oh! [again]

Remember this post?

Didn't think so. That's why I posted it again for you. :-)

Anyhoo. We're going to I-da-ho! For a speech and debate tournament!

*freaks out* I am SO not ready.

Prayers would be appreciated.

Ze blog will likely be a bit quieter for the next few weeks... ttfn!

It's that time of year again!

Narnia, tenth avenue north, purple, speech and debate....

Welcome to another post about something I love. (:

What should I do this year for my DI?

(vote on the poll)

For those of you not in speech (shame, you should be!) (just kidding) (well, sort of), a DI is a Dramatic Interpretation, and you basically act out a play with yourself, using material directly from a piece of literature you choose.

Last year I did it on Twenty and Ten. It was alright, but not nearly up to par with the rest of the stuff I was competing against.

Among this year's ideas are....

Pictures of Hollis Woods
I am in love with this book, but I'm really at loss as to how it would be interp'd. It's so....complicated. Not deep, like the next book. Just messy. =P

Till We Have Faces

I'm super excited about this one. It could be really good, but really, really hard because there's a lot of depth and quite possibly screaming and crying. Yeah. Dramatic.

The Tale of Despereaux
I'm not quite sure how I would do this, but I love the lesson/moral/simple depth/innocence of this book. It's sweet, and can be really dramatic if you make it.

Any other ideas? ::hopeful smile::

Camp Marathon?

I've been at camps for the past month.

First there was VBA. (which could be a whole series of blog posts by itself, but I think I'll spare you on that one.)

Then there was Debate camp. (Firehose of information in my debate-novice face :D )

Last week there was speech camp. (Exhausting. Insane. Totally amazing.)

And today I leave for awana camp!!

....be back in a week! (: