The Christianville Spirit: Christian's Year-in-Review 2012

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

December 27, 2012-TCS # 331

 Well, My Readers, it turns out The World didn’t end Last Friday, so We’re still here! So, with that said I hope it didn’t freak you out too much about The End of the World however, a PTLS Family Member put it best, “Maybe it was the Mayans version of April Fools Day?” So, we’ll go with that. So, back to regularly scheduled newsletter writing. Anyway, We here at The Christianville Spirit as well as The World itself has had quite a year, if there was one word to describe this year if I polled everyone I know, they would say, “Strange”. To tell you the truth, it kinda was a strange year but, then again, the planets of the Solar System alined and for those who live up north, as far as Canada or Norway & Sweden, had quite a show. So, Every Year, I do what I call, “Christian’s Year-in-Review” because I love Year-in-Reviews. So, I feel the need to do one. So, without further a due, This is Christian’s Year-in-Review 2012. So, with all years, we start in January. The beginning of January 2012, in the news, The Nation of Iran threatened to close down The Straight of Hormuz, which is a major oil shipping line that goes between Iran and The United Arab Emirates. In the United States, The bills, SOPA and PIPA, which were bills relating to The Internet were angering people and caused the website, Wikipedia to go black in Protest of it on January 18. On February 11, Pop Star, Whitney Houston passed away of a Drug Overdose at Age 48. On February 22, I decided to go up to where My Brother goes to school at The University of North Texas, which was quite an experience. Among the many groups that I saw, now that I think of it, are probably moving to Colorado or Washington State because they wanted Marijuana legalized. In March was in my view, a special event happened on the 15th (before St. Patrick’s Day, that’s how I remember it) I met someone who is now My PTLS Sister, Danielle. I was very happy to meet someone who also had PTLS that I could talk to and relate to. When I first met her, I referred to her as “My New Friend, Danielle”, now she is “My PTLS Sister, Danielle.” In the News, on March 21, Travon Martin was shot by George Zimmerman, as a result one of the Police Officers there decided to step down. In International News, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin won Russia’s Presidential Election on March 4. In April, I got to meet another PTLS Family Member who was one of the first families that was diagnosed in the Dallas-Fort Worth Area. So, now there is a PTLS Family Member close to Home. In the News, on March 12, North Korea wanted to launch what they said was a “Satellite” in honor of their founder’s 100th Birthday and the launch failed. The Month of May was a personal-filled month. In May, I had My Upper GI Procedure and My 2nd Swallow Study. They found that I have slow emptying of my stomach and I clear my throat because I have a delayed swallow and hypersensitive nerves in the back of my throat. Here at The Christianville Spirit, we celebrated My 300th Newsletter and The “I Believe In Love” campaign. June, in Personal News, I wrote a really good newsletter about an Interview I had with My Brother about his view of PTLS. I would really recommend it for a read when you have nothing to do or something to read, over and over. The month ended with a “Foster Dog” whose name has changed 3 times and ended with “Sadie-Good Lord.”  In The News, on June 2, Former Egyptian President Mubarak was sentenced to Life in Prison. July, for me was a busy month, on the weekend of July 12-14 was the 2nd PTLS Conference in Houston, Texas and which was really fun and I got to meet new PTLS Family Members including My “Museum Buddies”, Ken & Sabrina Lu. In the News, was the 30th Olympic Games in London, United Kingdom, going from July 27-August 12 and also, on July 20, A guy went in to a Movie Theater in Aurora, Colorado during the showing of Batman: The Dark Knight Rises and shot people. In August was My 25th Birthday and on My Birthday, My Mom and I went to go see the “World’s Largest Peanut” in Durant, Oklahoma. My Neighbors, Robin and Woody threw me a Surprise Party on My Birthday which I didn’t know about because I thought it was going to be just us, it was Awesome! On the week of August 18-25, We drove to Atlanta for My Birthday Trip, we got to hang out with the Smith Family and PTLS Family Members. In The News, Presidential Candidate, Mitt Romney chose running mate, Paul Ryan on My Birthday, August 11.  September was a Quiet Month, the biggest events that happen to me personally was that My Mac Computer crashed due to the motherboard crashing. On September 15, My Mom, My Brother, and I went to the Red Bull Soapbox Derby which was really fun and it was funny to watch. In Mid-September, A gunmen stormed a US Embassy in Libya and Killed the Ambassador. There was a lot of uproar about it and what they should have or shouldn’t have done. In October, In Personal News, I went to The Dentist and I didn’t gag, like I usually do. I wrote about it in one of My Newsletters about Anxiety. On October 26, We Celebrated My Brother, Michael’s 24th Birthday; it was a lot of fun. In The News, October was a month of Presidential Debates to decide who was going to be President of The United States. There were three debates, on the 3rd, 16th, 22nd respectively. October didn’t end very well, in the news, because Hurricane Sandy or “Super Storm Sandy” as Weather Forecasters called it, hit Atlantic City and up the Jersey Shore as well as New York City where part of the city’s subway system was flooded and shut down. So, people had to ride the bus or drive across the bridge with no less than 4 people in a car; Even if you were strangers. On November 15, My Mom was awarded “Outstanding Instructor of The Year” at Collin College on the Continuing Education Side. As a Result, She had her face on the cover of the Continuing Education Catalogue on November 27. During November 16-20 was the 7th Annual Christian’s Best Friends‘ Festival in Christianville. In The News, Barack Obama won The US Presidential Election. I should note though that Obama only won the Electoral College and Mitt Romney won the Popular Vote. After the election, General Petraeus resigned from The CIA due to an affair that he had with someone. And, Finally, we come to December, My Favorite Month of Year. On December 2 which was the same night as the Special Friends Dinner was the famous, what we now call, “The Monica Miracle” where Uncle Scott’s Niece, Monica, got a new pair of lungs. Now, I have to say that, that is the Best Christmas Present, anyone could ask for. In The News, Right before Christmas, there was a shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut which was really horrible to hear about. And, finally this past weekend, we drove to Atlanta to go see the Smith Family and that is always fun to do. Anyway, to wrap it up all up, I had a good year and I hope you did too. If your still reading at this point, I congratulate You because this is a long newsletter to read and yes, even long for me to write. So, all in all, 2012 was a good year and one thing, I’m happy for is that we got to live through it when we thought that The World was going to end like The Mayans said, but like I said in the beginning, We’re still here!

(For the last time in 2012)

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. I hope you had an awesome 2012 and I’ll see you back here for another year of Exciting, Thought-Provoking, Life Learning, and Yes, an occasional touching newsletter in 2013.

The Christianville Spirit: Why I Love December

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

December 19, 2012-TCS # 330

 Okay, Everyone, It’s that Time of Year again. Well, As Promised, This Week, I was going to write on why December is My Favorite Time of Year as Part of My Christmas Newsletter. So, without further a due..Here it goes. I Love the Month of December because of one thing, Christmas, and not just Christmas but all that is associated with it. I mean, who wouldn’t, You have Christmas Music, Lights, Movies, and above all, Cheer. And, Yes even a little Christmas Miracle or two. I love this time of year because Everyone is always so happy (well, not Everyone but I wish) during this time of year. It’s a very peaceful time of year when you make it more about Family and the Birth of Jesus than Presents. Now, contrary to what People say, You still should include Santa Claus because not only is He the Spirit of Christmas but, also a Sign of Love as well. I also love the Christmas Music that plays on the radio or on your own device, In my case, it’s both. Now, as a bit of advice, as joyful as it is, don’t listen all the time because by the time Christmas DAY comes, your burned out from it. Then, comes the biggest part, The Lights. These Days, I always could figure out the trend in how people decorate, but it’s not always about the trend, like all colored light, all white lights, or fancy decorating. the light can, believe it or not, bring you peace. This Year, I decided to put up Lights in the Hallway, along with My Brother’s “Art Gallery.” We hadn’t put them there before because we didn’t want to disturb his art. But, one day, My Mom was having a Bad Day and I decided to surprise her with the lights, to cheer her up. Well, It did Cheer her up but, in a way, it was good for me also. The Reason is because I have a little peaceful moment right before I go to bed. You See, the lights in the hallway and the lights on the Christmas Tree are the same multi-colored lights. However, After I’ve shut down My Computer and turned off the Television, I look at the lights on both ends of the house and it brings me peace. I think, “It’s just Me and The Lights.” A Weird thought, I know, but if you were in my Christmas-Loving Shoes, you would be at peace too. Anyway, then, there’s the “Monica Miracle” that touched me because I’ve never seen such a big True Miracle occur in My Life. Then, there was a moment that made me remember why I love Christmas. So, My Mom and I go to this “Special Friends‘ Dinner” that the big church of Plano holds for the Special Needs Community on the same night of the “Monica Miracle” (that’s how I remembered the date, because we went to that dinner that evening). Anyway, we went with Our Neighbors Paulie and Alyson. By The Way, his name is actually Paul but, that’s what Woody calls him. Anyway, There was a Grandmother who sat next to us and I talked to her a couple times, helping her in any way I could considering she had brought her 3 Grandchildren. Anyway, to put it shortly, these kids had a rough year this past year but, You should have seen their Faces when Santa Claus came out, I Believe that, that figure of speech, “They lit up like a Christmas Tree” is very appropriate here because that describes what their faces looked like. Some people say that if You want to see the True Spirit of Christmas, Look at a child or even talk to a child about Christmas and Santa Claus. And, of course, if you actually see a person who looks a lot like Santa Claus, you too have the right to get excited about it like the Kids do. Just make sure though not to get too excited, to where you end up on YouTube. So, Bottom Line here, I just love Christmas and I have a Christmas District in Christianville to prove it. I just hope that when I meet the Girl of My Dreams, that she loves Christmas as much as I do. All in all, Christmas is a cheerful time of year and you don’t have to “Survive” it, You should love it and enjoy it, no matter if it is Perfect or imperfect.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Merry Christmas-Hanukah-Kwanza From The Christianville Spirit 

   

The Christianville Spirit: A Christmas Miracle

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

December 12, 2012(12-12-12)-TCS # 329

So, Around This Time of Year, I usually write about how much I love Christmas, however I usually write on the week of Christmas, but under Special Circumstances that I feel the need to tell you about something that has touched me this year. You See, There is something that happens in the Christmas Season that occurs once-in-a-blue-moon. For those that pay more attention to it, they’ll tell you that it happens all the time but, however, the only time you realize it, is when it happens close to home to someone you know. What I’m Talking about is the Christmas Miracle, meaning a Miraculous thing that happens that either you’ve always wanted, something you would never expect, or just a pure coincidence. Now, I don’t believe in “Pure Coincidences” but, depending on the Context of it, it is. Anyway, People think of Christmas Miracles in different ways, it can be something like Finally having your children in your custody for Christmas, Meeting the Right Person, or even something as simple as buying the year’s hottest toy (which is the “New Furby”) on Christmas Eve, if you get the Movie Jingle All The Way Reference. Yes, I’m all about Movie References, but anyway. A Family Friend of Ours, We call him “Uncle Scott” because he was there when I was born, back in the time when we were living in San Antonio. Anyway, He has a niece named Monica who lives in North Carolina, little known to me, she had Cystic Fibrosis and she had been waiting for new lungs over the past several years. Well, on the evening of December 2, she had got the call to come down to The Hospital because they had new lungs for her. She was all prepped and ready to go into surgery around 4 AM on December 3. Against all odds, Monica had her Christmas Miracle of all Christmas Miracles; a New Set of Lungs, ones that she had been waiting for her whole life, and not only that but, a New Life. As I told “Uncle Scott” that night that I told him that I believed that Monica was reborn. Truth be told, She was reborn, literally, because she was given a second life to live and I know that she WILL make the best of it. Honestly, I can’t wait to see the pictures of her in all parts of The World. Now, I don’t know what Monica’s interests and specialities are, but If I were her, that’s what I would do. I’ll also add this that I told “Uncle Scott” that if Monica asks who gave them to her, I would say to tell her that Santa Claus gave it to her, then she’ll never-ever stop believing in Santa and after all, “Seeing is Believing” as they say in The Polar Express (Yes, Ladies and Gents. Another Movie Reference). Just because You can’t see Santa, doesn’t mean he’s not there because as I see it, He’s always there..whether you believe in him or not. So, I’m going to leave off with this.. as the Santa told us at the Radio City Rocketts‘ Christmas Spectacular, that when searching for The Perfect Gift, as Santa says, “The Gift Finds You.” So, it goes without saying that, The Perfect Christmas Gift found Monica and As far as I know, she is doing excellently well. All in all though, Christmas is what you make of it and sometimes, on those once-in-a-blue-moon times, the Christmas Miracle and Perfect Gift catches You, and Christmas.. it makes you.

    

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Be the Miracle in someone’s life and Celebrate the Miracle of You.

    

The Christianville Spirit: What It's Like Having PTLS-Part Deux

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

December 5, 2012-TCS # 328

Well, Happy December, Everyone! This is My Most Favorite Month of The Year, more on that in a couple weeks. This Week, however, is sort of an extension of the question, “What is it like to have PTLS?”. I forgot to mention about 2 other major things about PTLS, that would be Imitating and Obsessing (we’ll call it OCDing) because we PTLSers have an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder behaviors sometimes. Now, I had a whole thing about Imitating, I figured that I had mentioned it enough in My Newsletters, but to my surprise and yes, some humor, You wanted more about Imitating. Last Week though, for those are new, I had written a little blip about Imitating and what it is like to have PTLS. So, anyway, let’s get to it! Imitating can be a good or bad behavior, depending on the source. Now, before you start asking, “What is the Source, you say?”. Well, The Source is what we’ll call, where the Imitation is coming from and there are many. The Main Sources that I look at when it comes to explaining is The Parents of The Children, Friends (Both Childs & Yours), Other Kids(Other Kids have a greater influence though), and Things on Television. So, considering that we listen to everything, wether we’re talking or not, we will eventually Imitate the things that we hear you saying or doing. The Best Rule to follow is if you want Good Behavior, put them around things of good behavior, in all the main sources. And, the same thing goes  for the opposite side. So, If you want your child to talk and I know many PTLS parents do, than you put them around normal kids who have good behavior. Here are some examples, When I was little (like 3 or 4 Years Old), The School that I went to, there was a kid who pinched people, so I started pinching people, so the teachers had to move me and the kid away from each other. For Eating, I didn’t eat very well but, I sat at a table with kids eating fruit and I started eating off their plates. I got in trouble but, My Mom was happy that I was eating. I learned to jump on The Trampoline, only when there were kids jumping on it, That was the best thing for Me. When the Speech Therapist would say, “Look at me” and turn my head towards her, I would do that to people who weren’t paying attention to me. I would turn their head and say, “Look at Me.” It’s not a big thing but, it was a big part of how I learned.  As for Me, I have Imitated since I was younger and I still do but not as much as I did when I was younger. When I was learning to talk, I would repeat the other kids, and they would tell me to stop repeating them. I did not know why they would get so angry with me. Usually, it takes a little while before I start to pick up whatever behavior I’m watching. Even the 2 Girlfriends I had, I Imitated their behavior; I talked like them, I thought like them, and I behaved like them. Anyway, now we move on to what can be (to outsiders and PTLS Parents themselves) an annoying habit, The OCDing. We PTLSers Obsess about different things; People, Objects, Interests, and Thoughts. So, usually we find something that interests us and we start to Obsess about it by thinking about it, talking about it, and researching things about it. The annoying part of it is that we don’t stop talking about it or researching until something new sparks our interests. For Example, After I spent a long time Obsessing about Ali, she was My 1st unofficial Girlfriend, I found everything with the name Ali in it and drove my Mom and Brother crazy always talking about it. After I broke up with her, I started Obsessing about New England, which was a nice change for everyone around me, but then it was a problem. Which to most people would think is healthy to think about other things besides the girl that you were with. Honestly, I believe that it helped me with getting over her because she was a nice girl. Anyway, I believe when I was around 7th Grade or so, I would pick a City or State to obsess about and they were odd places sometimes. Besides Atlanta, where The Smith Family lives, I would obsess (well, not really obsessing because I love Geography, but anyway..) I would Obsess about the places in between like Alabama, Mississippi, or Houston. In my head, I pretend that we lived in where ever I was obsessing about. When I was Younger, like back what we now call “The Mr. Jeff Era”(from 2nd to 5th Grade), we had a creek in the backyard and considering that I had gone to Laredo and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico with My Dad, I would pretend that Mr. Jeff’s House was the Welcome Center into Laredo, Texas, The creek was the Rio Grande River and, My School, Harrington, was in Mexico. I’m sure, My Childhood Friends hadn’t heard about this until now, or at least I don’t think. The tall-tale sign of what your child or myself are obsessing about is mentioned a lot whenever we talk about things over and over again, and never get tired of it. I have to be told to stop and move on to some other topic. Further toward My Present Age, If you have ever had a conversation with me, you would notice I’ve obsessed about Places like New England (like Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine); Norway & Sweden (My Neighbor, Woody, and I have discussions about that a lot); The Caribbean (like Jamaica, The USVI, and St. Martin & St. Bartts;  How News, The World, History, and Politics all tie together; and of course a share of Girls including Girlfriends I’ve had, Girls I like, and of course, My Future Soulmate. I should also mention, if you haven’t noticed, that we like to repeat ourselves, it’s another thing that we PTLSers do called Repetition. So imitation is often when we are young, but not so much when we get older. OCD behaviors help me to stay focused, so I guess it is a Good thing. Repeating myself and talking about my Obsessions, Well, that might drive others crazy, but I like it and so I keep doing it.

All in All, 

if your kids are imitating, hopefully its all good things. If they have OCD behavior, be patient with them because it helps them to fell in control and stay focused.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. We all have our quirks and good reasons for them. Love us anyways.       

The Christianville Spirit: What's it's like having PTLS

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

November 28, 2012-TCS # 327

So, This Week’s Newsletter is a PTLS Parent-submitted idea that I’m going to take a shot at. You See, The question does come up every now and then about “What is it like to have PTLS” or “Why do you love having PTLS.” Now, for Me, I’ve lived through it my whole life but, I found out when I was 8 Years Old. The Doctors and My Mom told me I was unique and that I had something called a “Duplication of Chromosome 17” but, again in my 8 Year Old mind, I just understood that I was unique in some way. I was very proud to say what I had (and, I still am proud) but, I had a hard time explaining it to people, yes even Today. Of Course, My “PTLS Sister” will tell you what she has and tells you what she knows about it and says to “look it up”. Quite Frankly, though, I think that’s the best idea to do. However, when I was a High School age, we didn’t have a website or let alone ANY Information about it. Now, to answer the question of “What is it Like to have PTLS?” to me, It’s not a big deal that I have Special Needs (I am aware of it though) because I believe it makes me, Me. The best part about it that makes it a big deal is having PTLS Family Members all over The World. Of Course, with everything, it has Pros and Cons about it, just like Chicago O’Hare vs. Chicago Midway Airport, Irrelevant I know, but I wanted to stick that in there. Generally though, There are some wonderful perks to it, like that You don’t judge People by their looks or their story because we see the good in People, We have No Filter, which can be a good thing or bad thing depending on who you are listening to, and we love anyone and everyone, unless they really hurt us, then we don’t understand why people would be so Mean. If it were up to us, we would hug every person that looks Sad or who just feels sad. Then, there are the not-so-perky parts of it; the #1 less-perky thing about PTLS is the Anxiety. Anxiety can come from different sources like Trying New Things, the Doctor’s Office, or Irrational Fears. By The Way, We do have Irrational Fears that we go through, where it comes out of nowhere, strikes, and then goes away after a while. The next thing is Imitating, which can be Good or Bad depending on who or what your imitating. And the final one, It’s a pain when people look down on you, as if you are dumber or less-able than them, It’s where and why people call us, the dreaded R-Word. At Least, for me I get offended whether someone calls me the R-Word directly or indirectly. Even if they use it in a funny way like “That’s R-Worded” to mean that something is funny (I’ll save you from hearing or reading the word itself, but you get the point). Bottom line, I Hate that word. And Yes, I had a friend who did that a lot and I’m sure still does. So, He’s not My Friend anymore. As far as, Why do I Love it? Because it makes me unique and I love my “Uniqueness” plus, there are lots of Understanding PTLS Members all over The World and it gives me an excuse to visit those places. Understanding though, is the Most Important (I mean it with emphasis) part of having PTLS or Having someone with PTLS, whether it’s your son, daughter, cousin, or friend. Unfortunately, in some families, including my own, it’s hard for people to Understand. If you have Friends or Family that do understand, Never let them go and cherish them, because they will be your ringleader and on Team “Insert Child’s Name Here.” You need Cheerleaders in the times when we are Bullied or made fun of. I know I had Friends that protected me when I was younger but, didn’t know why. I didn’t know what a bully was until I got older. Now, I’m aware when people aren’t being nice. But, it doesn’t happen very often, thank goodness. So, all in all, just because people see me as being “Special” doesn’t mean, I’m not able.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Embrace your Uniqueness because We are all special in our own way.         

The Christianville Spirit: Christian's Best Friends' Festival 2012

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Open Your Eyes

November 21, 2012-TCS # 326

So, Around this time every year, I have a Festival from November 16-20 called Christian’s Best Friends’ Festival. What is Christian’s Best Friends’ Festival, You ask? I like to tell people that It’s My Way of thanking the friends that I have. You See, In my made-up City of Christianville (Hence the name of This Newsletter and Where it is from), I have this festival in which is spread out over 5 Days, with “Days” to honor my Friends and on these days I have a theme for them which includes the things that they like. For instance, I named the first day after My Brother, Michael (after the name had been changed, over and over). On Michael Day, besides the opening of the festival and Presentation of Friends, I follow it with “The Parade of Michael Centeno” which has all the things My Brother likes on floats, including Michael himself. However, the “Friends Days” aren’t the only way of honoring my friends; I honor them by the Presentation and Introduction of Friends. The Presentation of Friends is for not only the ones with themed days but, also a count of the long-standing friends. The fun part then comes with the Introduction of Friends, which means the friends that I made that year, like Sabrina Yep and Ken Lu (“My Museum Buddies”); Sam & Vickie Sample and Kytha Higgins(“My Train-Riding Buddies”); My PTLS “Sister”, Danielle; My #1 Fan, Lynne Neff; My Neighbor Woody & Robin; Neighbors down the street, Paul & Alyson, as well our other neighbors that join in our “2nd Saturday Gathering”, just to name a few that were introduced. I have had this Festival in Christianville for 7 Years now; It’s an honor to me to have the great friends that I do and I’m sure it’s an honor to them that I honor them. It’s Important to me to thank them and to show how important THEY are to ME. Wouldn’t it be a nice world if we honored our friends for a week-long celebration? For You, PTLS Parents, I would like to explain how I celebrate this. First, I have it marked on all my calendars, saying either “Christian’s Best Friends‘ Festival” or the festival Name and who’s day it is. The night before, I put up “Day Markers” that tell me who’s day it is on the wall. The Morning of, I wake up and I make the announcements in my head, which is like talking on the radio, of all the festivities and the sounds that go with it (like Cheering, The Band, The Sounds of the Doors Opening as the people walk through them, The Voice of the announcer on the street, announcing “Ladies and Gentlemen...”). Again, In My Head, I listen to the Christianville Radio Station,     97.9 WPSKI (call letters meaning Potocki-LupSKI), on this Radio Station, they have a Morning Show from 7-9AM called “What’s Going On Here?!?!”, with the Tag Line, “Christianville’s News & Laugh Show”. Every Day but, Friday, they say, “Good Morning, Christianville! Today is (says Day and Date) and Here’s Your News” and on Fridays, they say in an excited way, “Gooooood Morning, Christianville!!, It’s Friiiidddayyy!”. From there, they tell you the news which includes what’s going on in the Best Friends‘ Festival. So, Parents, If you’re wondering, what your child might be talking to themselves about, they might be just having their own wonderful festival. All in all, The Festival was a great success this year.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Everyone should thank their friends in a Special Way.    

The Christianville Spirit: Being Classy is Cool

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

November 14, 2012-TCS # 325

So, This Week I’m going to discuss something that My Family, being The Smith Family cares about. It’s about how much Class you have, which has nothing to do with where you live, how much money you have or don’t have, what your job is, the color of your skin, who your married to, or anything else like that. It means how you handle yourself. Now Honestly, I’ll tell you I wish there wasn’t a divider like Class and everyone was Loving, Good, and Real, that’s the way I see it. Now, for those who wonder, I will never judge you based on that, you’ll still be a friend to me. The only exception to that rule is if your hateful, bullying people, or dabbling into Trouble. Trouble which I wouldn’t want to go down that road. In Our Family, Whenever someone is behaving in a bad manner, we say, “That’s Low Class.” To us, though, having Class is a very important part of what makes people so charm-able. In Fact, My Grandma Honey calls it, “Being Genuine and Real” because everyone is attracted to these people because they are Warm, Loving, and Welcome Everyone.  Anyway, I made up my own Class Scale to determine how Classy someone is or isn’t, again I should note here, No Judging. This is purely my own. So, it’s numbered from 100.0 to 0.0, 100 being the Most Classy and 0 being the Least Classy. So, here is the Class Scale,

• From 100.0 to 85.5 are the “Highest Class” of People, very behaved, very loving and very real. They are the people who are very honest, Good Morals and Values, They try to make people feel good, and Good People in the community. They are the person everyone loves. I would put myself, as well as Many PTLSers on that list.
• Next, we move into the “Classy” stage, 85.4 to 65.5, These people are Classy, a little less behaved, this margin is where people start being less honest, less caring, and less liked
• Then, we move into the “Mid-Class”, 65.4 to 45.5, These People are less real and genuine, Behavior can swing from good to bad, when they talk, it’s questionable whether they are telling the truth or lying, they are clever liars and people don’t want to be around them as much.
• After That, is the “Low Class” margin, 45.4 to 25.5, These people are always calling people names, lying to people, don’t care about people’s feelings, hurt people and animals, and this makes God really upset
• Finally, the “Bottom of The Barrel” as My Mom would say or “the Lowest of The Low”, 25.4 to 0.0, These people are the murders, the thieves, they abuse Animals and People, Have a hard time being excepted by other people. These people need a lot of love to help them.

So, I make it my job and I hope you do to, to help bring people up the scale of class. All in all, I say, “All we need is Love!”

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. In the words of My Mom, she tells me, “Life is like a box of chocolates, each piece needs to be eaten and not left behind!”  

    

The Christianville Spirit: If I were President

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

November 7, 2012-TCS # 324

So, Considering that Everyone is talking about and sharing their view on US Politics, I figure that I would put my own twist on it. However, instead of writing all about The Election and The President, I’m going to take a different road. You See, the thought occurred in my mind sometime ago and then, I was reminded when I read the wonderful post on Facebook about Daniel Honda for President. I was really excited and thought, “YEA! A PTLS Child for President!”. So, I thought of what I would do if I were President of The United States. So, here we go, what would I do if I was President. Of Course, there are many things going on that I could change, for instance, I would make sure that Everyone had Health Insurance, that they could choose on their own and If it comes from the job they have, then they can choose from what the company does or what you want. For Illegal Immigration, I would have a “Stay or Leave” Condition, which meant that If you want to stay here in The US, You must get citizenship, Pay Taxes, and Speak at least Half English compared to your native language. I would love for you to keep some of your language to add a little flavor to the culture pot of America. If you choose not to do those things, (not to sound mean or anything but..) then you will need to go back home and come back for a visit. In the Jobs Sector, I would encourage people to find what their passion is or what they love to do and go after it. My Belief is that if You go after your passion then, Everyone will have a Job to do. I would really make sure though that Jobs stay here and Things are made here in America. In the Debt, I would cut spending and Tax heavy on the bad stuff like Trans Fat, High Fructose Corn Syrup (yes, that’s a big word; I know it because My Mom and Brother mention it a lot) and Cigarettes which would make the Government money and which in turn would Pay off the debt. I would incorporate Hugs as Currency in exchange for some things like Groceries, Electricity, Water, and Phone Bill. I would incorporate a PTLS Holiday called “PTLS Awareness Day” to be on March 7 because it was the day that PTLS (Potocki-Lupski Syndrome) was named. People with Special Needs would get the services they need and their seen as Honorary Members of Society. I would believe that if you say your going to do something, you do something. It’s called “Say what you mean and Mean what you say.” The next one most people don’t think about until it is brought up to them, I would make that there were Anti-Bulling and Anti-Hatred Laws in Every State. Truth is, there is quite a bit of separation in our country, let alone The World because of Bulling and Hatred. I Mean, without Hatred we would all get along and be at peace with The World and the funny thing would be The World would be at peace with all of us. After all the debt is paid off, I would make sure that those really poor countries like Haiti and Nations in Africa would get money and food to help them until they sustain themselves. As for The Military, I would pull them out of Afghanistan and elsewhere for 2 reasons. 1. To give them a little break to be with their families and 2. I read in a magazine once that the less countries we occupy, the less we get attacked and the less Suicide Bombings. Then, there’s Oil. The World would use it until it’s gone and then, we switch to Vegetables and then, to Hemp, because Hemp powered cars much better than Oil or Vegetables. Finally with Social Security, I would keep both Medicaid and Medicare. Considering that Everyone would have a Job and Health Insurance including those with Special Needs, not many People would have to have it, only the people who really need it like the elderly. I can tell you though that things will certainly be organized with me as President, because of My OCD and needing structure and needing routine. Things like the Tax Code would be so simple because I would bring the code down to 1 Page instead of the 100’s, you could do it in an hour. All in all, Things would be very simple, Organized, and Loving...if I were President. Of Course, it wouldn’t be a good team without Daniel Honda as Vice President.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. PTLS for President!     

The Christianville Spirit: A Look through My Eyes

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

October 31, 2012-TCS # 323

So, Happy Halloween, Everyone! Halloween is not really my favorite holiday but, Happy Halloween anyway. So, there’s something I haven’t mentioned in a while about Having PTLS. You See, it came with a question when My Mom was talking with her friend about her concern if I could see in 3D or Not. I thought to myself, “Do I see in 3D?” and “What is 3D?”. As far as I knew, it was a type of movie and I know when I see those kind of movies, it hurts my eyes. Well, the truth is that I never really thought of it. I mean, I didn’t really know the meaning of “Can I see in 3D?” Well, the thing of it is, is that we PTLSers have vision problems sometimes. Like when lights are flashing like a Strobe Light or flashes of light on TV, it bothers my eyes and I squint, and when I was younger, I would cover my eyes with my arm. The sunlight would really bother me when I was younger, to the point where it would make me close my eyes. Now, I have 2 pairs of Glasses that I switch out, I have my sunglasses for the daytime and Prescription   Glasses for inside and at nighttime. The Prescription Glasses are so I can see far away better. When I was Young, the eye doctor told My Mom that I was not able to pick up 3D images and had poor depth perception. It has only been recently that I have become aware of what this all means. Here’s an example; So, When My Brother took me to school with him, I was looking at different art pieces in the Art Hall of where he was. People had to make figures from wire without cutting it and I was looking for My Brother’s Project and I had a hard time seeing the object that was made out of the wire, Because the object was in 3D. So, a couple years ago, there was an event that was in 3D on TV which required that you had to get 3D glasses to watch this. When I put the glass on, it bothered me because one side I saw red and other side I saw blue. So, it didn’t make sense to me that these were red and blue  and it didn’t help with what I was looking at. My Mom used to say that when I was younger, I would stare at a shelf on a wall and look at it from all angles, studying very hard. She would wonder how I was seeing it, since I wasn’t talking yet and I couldn’t tell her what I was doing. Another Example is when My Mom and I drove to Houston for a PTLS Conference, My Mom noticed a building that she was fascinated by in Downtown Houston, she pointed it out to me but, I couldn’t understand she was so excited because to me it looked like a flat building. All in all, Vision is a crazy thing because you never know how you see things is how others see things.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Take a look through My Eyes. You’ll be another world! 

The Christianville Spirit: Conversation about My Anxieties

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

October 24, 2012-TCS # 322

So, Last Thursday, My Mom and I had one of the best talks we’ve had in a while. However, as My Uncle Bruce would call it, “The context of it” wasn’t that fun and happening at the time it was happening. Now, don’t worry it’s not bad, I promise! You See, about 2 weeks ago, My Mom told me that I had a Dentist Appointment on Thursday, The 18th. She let me know so I would be prepared and not spring up on me like “Oh, by the way...We’re going to The Dentist today.” Now, the reason she told me is because having predictability is essential to us PTLSers because we don’t focus without it. Not only that but, the Anxiety increases as well. On the other hand, when I know about it, I obsess about it and I get anxious about it. So, usually when I’m told in advance, I get nervous and fret about it until the day of. Bottom line, I’m nervous the most the night before, the morning of, and when the event starts. So, that brings me to This Afternoon (it was Thursday when I wrote this). So, I was nervous as usual and we discovered that the appointment was an hour later than she thought, so we had time talk, but it also gave me more time to be worried. Here is how the talk began. You see, Everyone, don’t get me wrong, I LOVE having PTLS and I wouldn’t give it up for anything, Nothing! However, there are parts of the behaviors that I would love to get rid, that one being Anxiety and, that was one of the first thing I told My Mom. So, she was wondering if I sit during this extra hour of waiting, and do nothing, does it help with my Anxiety? Unfortunately, No. In fact it only makes it worse because I obsess about it even more, because I know, wether I sit still and Watch TV or check Facebook, whatever the event is, it is still going to happen. So, she suggested that we hop in the car, start driving toward the Dentist’s Office and keep moving. So, we started discussing, how I feel about my anxiety and methods on how I can get through it and how she could help me get through it. This ha always been something she wondered about if she handled me the right way when I was a Child. As far as the sitting still or delaying it, that only makes me frustrated because it just means the event in question is still in your face and it’s not going to move unless you go through it. So, then comes the question of “should I tell you about a week before or be like, Surprise! We’re doing This”(in this case, “You and I are going to The Dentist, right now.”) I told her that it would be a Defiance of Trust to me if she didn’t give me enough warning. Remember though that My Mom and I have a good relationship, I tell her what’s going on with me and she tells me some of the stuff going on with her. So, how would I tell the difference when someone says, “Let’s get in the Car”; does it mean that your going out to Dinner, to The Movies maybe, on a Drive (which I love to do), or going to The Doctor to get your blood drawn. So I told her, that I have to know about it because I need predictability and predictable outcomes. Now, It may make me nervous, physically sick to my stomach and fret to no end, but it’s better for me to know than be surprised with something like that. The only thing is that it is frustrating is to know I am going to get sick (which is very ugly, loud and embarrassing) to know that you can’t get around it. So, then the problem comes, when the event happens, what do you (the parents & Kids) do? Well, that’s the part that gets me emotionally confused (and it had me very emotional talking about). Whether you ease into it slowly or be outfront about it, just make me do it. When it comes to Doctors, Dentists, and Needles, the best thing is just do it, be direct, but with a gentle firmness that gets it over with quickly. Once I get through it, I am fine. Now, I know PTLS Parents are wondering, “But, I don’t want to force it on them!”. Well, the thing is, you don’t have to force but, you have to push a little bit. I mean, as I told My Mom, “If you didn’t push while I was worried and getting sick to my stomach, then I wouldn’t have given a Love Note to Ali and she wouldn’t have known that I liked her” Other examples, I would never have learned to swim, go down a slide, snow ski, or performed in the Second Grade play at School (all which I really liked and didn’t want to stop after I did it), go into the 4th grade Economic Fair (because they had “Gak” and the sight of this makes me throw up), I would have never went out on a date, Went to Homecoming, had a Girlfriend, had a job or I would have never even have met My PTLS “Sister” (yes, it’s been awhile since I mentioned her). Now, I know your also wondering about the whole dentist appointment thing went, well I have an easy Gag Reflex and I was afraid that I was going to gag when I had to open your mouth. I do not like peoples hands and dental things in my mouth, so when they do I gag and get sick. However, a positive note, I didn’t gag this time, because Julie (the Dental Hygienist) was very nice and talked me through it, they had a T.V. for me to watch CNN, as well as the fact that she was very pretty. So the appointment went fine. I should mention though that these anxieties lasts until the event starts happening and then I start to calm down and have a good time. Anyway, the bottom line here is that your child can do a long list of things, but sometimes though, we need a little loving push to get through the anxiety we have and we’ll get it done.

All in All, remember that it depends on what the event is will tell if the PTLSer will be anxious about it and be able to get through it, no matter how hard you push them, but try anyway. This is what My Mom did and it worked.  

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Why do people eat Desserts when they are Stressed? Because Desserts is Stressed spelled backwards.      

The Christianville Spirit: Travelling with Street View

            This is one of My Favorite Views of the Atlanta Skyline. To Me, it's screams
          "Welcome to Atlanta!" for all the people coming into Atlanta from Alabama or
                                                                 Western Georgia

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

October 17, 2012-TCS # 321

 So, As most of you know, I love to cyber travel, whether it is down the street or across the country. I used to love traveling on Street View on My Ipad when I got bored or when I felt like it. However, having an Apple Device, like all computers and devices, need to be updated every now and then. I remember when I had a PC, on Windows Vista and it would pop up and tell me I had a minute to close and save everything before it restarted and updated. However, luckily Apple is different in that sense. However, I didn’t realize that this new update would cause the one thing I LIVE for to go away, Google Street View on My Ipad. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love Apple and it’s Products for many reasons, like the Macs don’t get viruses and Ipads/IPods/IPhones are easy to figure out (once you get the hang of it). By Now though, I’m used to not having Street View on IPad, although I’m still waiting for a miracle from the programmers. But, when it happened, it was so frustrating because I lost the thing that I used my ipad the most for, Street View. On the bright side, Street View is and forever will be on My Computer and that really helps. When I was watching the news, I saw on the ticker that Google Street View had added 240,000 Miles of Road across The World! I read yesterday that it was the largest update in Street View History. So, I figured I would test it to see where the new Street View was, so I picked a spot nearby My Grandma Honey’s House, I found that they had what I call, “Clarity.” And I know your asking, what is “Clarity”? Well, back when Street View first started in Early 2007, they used 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Generation cameras to drive on the road and take pictures. It was a big deal back then because you could see everything in detail, the road signs, store signs, the list goes on.. So, around 2010, they started taking pictures with 4th & 5th Generation Cameras, which made the picture much, much clearer. To describe it, would be like sitting on top of the car and seeing everything as if you were there. That’s why I call it, “Clarity.” So, anyway, slowly but surely, Google has added “Clear-as-day Street View” across the country. So, when the “Clarity Street View” reached the Atlanta Area, they only stayed within the City Center as well as certain highways and roads like the Vinings area and along The Perimeter (or I-285 to non-locals). Now however, they’ve added not only roads in areas like Buckhead and Outside The Perimeter (OTP as Atlantans call it) but, across the State of Georgia! To me, it’s really exciting when they add new “Clarity” to the roads of the country. So, being the person I am, I checked out all the areas in, around, and outside of Atlanta. I discovered that you can drive in “Clear View” on I-20, all the way to the Alabama Border when it used to stop at I-285 (The Perimeter). So, although it is not on My Ipad, which still annoys me sometimes, Thank God, it’s on My Computer. All in all, I love to travel the world! I’ll be coming to your area soon. 

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Travel the World, it’s full of Adventure!     

The Christianville Spirit: OCD & Me

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

October 10, 2012-TCS # 320

So, I’m sure for most of you, Last Week’s Newsletter left you hanging about what else I obsess and OCD about. So, for this week’s Newsletter, I’m going to continue on the things that I have OCD about. Now, to assure you, I have OCD about more things than just girls or a specific one. I do OCD about other things, some of them you might consider minor and some are more Major, to the point of where I can’t function unless it’s done. Now, I’ll tell you, that’s not as extreme like touching a door handle 5 times in a row. So, I’ll start with when I watch TV; First is that I’m a Control Freak so, I have to have control of the TV, so I make sure that I have the remotes next to me or near me so that I know where they are. The Weird thing about it is that I like to stack the remotes on top of each other so, it’s easier to know which one I need or just to know that they are near me. Sometimes, while I’m watching TV or even listening to the radio, I have a thing about the Volume Number. Whether it’s on the TV or Radio, it has to be that number, for example usually the volume on our TV sits about 20(the volume on the TV isn’t as great, so that’s the why number is high) and when raising it I find a number close to it like 20, 22, 25, 27, and 30. And, when I go to sleep, I turn the volume down to 5 so, I don’t hear it in My Room if the door is open. For Radio, which I don’t have to use that high of numbers, I like it to be at 5 if you want to talk while listening to the radio; 7, 10,12 if it’s a really good song and 3 if you just want to talk. The next one is more major, I have to make sure that things are organized and organized in a certain way. Like My Room is very clean and Everything is put in it’s place and has a place. If it’s not, then it feels out of order. An example is that I have a lot of Travel Books and Maps. So, I organized my Travel Books on my shelf by the region. Like they start Local and The West. And, then go from there to Arkansas, Tennessee & Kentucky, Chicago, Canada, New York City & New York State (and, there is a different between them), Montreal, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. From There, I go down to the Caribbean and then, to The UK and Roma (Rome in Italian). As You can tell from My Writing, I like it write in capital letters, even though I understand English grammar and Writing rules. You may call this, Passive-Aggressive like My Teachers would tell me, but It’s the way I like to write. The next thing that I OCD about, is the time I get up, the time I eat, or the time I go to bed. For Getting Up, I have to get up at a time ending in 5 (It’s On The 5’s!, as My Brother would say) like :05, :15, :25, :35, :45, and :55. If I miss a 5 by a minute or wake up at a different number, I wait until the next 5. When I was in school I would get up at 7:56 every morning which was not on the 5’s but I was able to do it. As for when I eat, I usual eat anywhere from 5:30 to 6. And, going to sleep, If I know I have to get up early, I’ll go to bed on a 5 as well, which would be something like 12:30AM or 1. Usually, I go to bed at 2. Just so you know, this doesn’t stop My Life, I can be flexible when I need to be. Sometimes, Anxiety slips in when I’m OCDing about things like Events of the Next Day or Next Week, like Doctor’s Appointments, Going somewhere special, or having to do something I’m not sure about. Because I stay focused on it too long, the Anxiety builds and it can make me sick to my stomach. Once the event gets going, then I’m just fine. All in all, I OCD about many things and it may slow it down but, it’s doesn’t completely stop My Life.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Keep Moving through Life and Don’t let anything or anyone Stop You.

The Christianville Spirit: My Obsessions

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

October 3, 2012-TCS # 319

So, Before I begin This Week’s Newsletter, I should mention that I finally got My Computer back! I didn’t lose anything I left on it. It turned out that the covering on both sides of the computer needed to be changed. So, with that being said, on to the newsletter. So, There’s a PTLS Trait that I have but, I’m not sure I have mentioned before and I think needs mentioning, It’s called Obsession (or OCD). Obsession is one of the many PTLS Traits that we PTLSers have including, Imitation, Lack of Filter, Anxiety, and Seeing only the Good in People. However, sometimes, Obsession can get you in trouble, as I’ve learned. You See, Obsession is one of those things that you, yourself don’t realize your doing it but, others watching can tell that you are. Anyway, Obsession, depending on what it’s about, can be a good thing or bad thing. And Believe Me, we obsess and compulse (or OCD) about various things. We have OCD about an Object (like for me that was a Map), a Thing, A Behavior or Thought, and also People. For instance, whenever I start dating or liking someone, My Friends & Family hear about them, constantly. Everything that that person is doing or does. So, usually what happens as “The Stages of Obsession.” First Stage is the beginning of the thought of that thing that enters your mind and you think about it over and over. the Next Stage is when you get curious; if it’s a behavior, you’ll start wanting to do that behavior; if it’s a person, you’ll start to mention their name in every sentence. The 3rd Stage, is investigating, where you start gathering any information or research about that thought, which is now an Obsession. After you’ve gathered all the information, you share it with everyone. The 4th Stage, is that you get Obsessed about it; where it’s the only thing on your mind and the only major thing that you discuss with Everyone because it keeps your interest. As far as a current Obsession it was about a girl but it was short lived, who I went to Elementary School with, back when I was crushing on Lynee. I decided to do a, “Where are they now?” discovery on Facebook a couple days ago of Friends I went to Elementary School with, and In my luck, I found one of the girls that I was in 5th Grade with named Hayley. So, I typed her name and found her on Facebook. I can tell you, her appearance hasn’t changed and she’s still as pretty as she was before. She lives in another city now, She lives in Austin (The State Capitol of Texas) and she is an artist. Anyway, the next day I googled her and found quite an Internet Presence of her. By the way, Internet Presence is my term for how often someone appears on the internet and how many sites that they are on. I found all her art pictures and I took a look at some of them and most of them were good. It was interesting to see where she was after all these years. After finding that, I shared it with My Mom and some with My Brother.  So, after finding her and seeing what she’s doing with her life, My Mind jumped to being friends with her again, meeting up with her, and doing a friendly reunion. But, as much I really wanted to reconnect with Hayley, something (My Gut, Lynee, and My Mom) told me not to get involved because I didn’t have an “Emotional Connection” with her as much I did with childhood friends of higher roles like The Herrick Girls, The Barsis, or The Hoopers. In my further research, the other day, I realized I wasn’t really that social back in 5th Grade as I am now. I mean, I could talk, just not clearly enough for people to understand me. As far as Hayley was concerned, I don’t think I connected with her back then, she was more of a classmate. I connected more with people like Lynee or Hanna, by the way Lynee was in 4th Grade and Hanna was 5th Grade. Because I sat next to them everyday and they learned to understand my speech, so they could understand me. It’s amazing to see where I am as well as Everyone Else. Most People back then would never think that I would be the Social butterfly that I am today. All in all, It’s fun to catch up with everyone, I just have to make sure that I don’t Obsess too much about it.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Catching up with The Past is great, but don’t get stuck on it.   

The Christianville Spirit: My Guardian Angel

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

September 26, 2012-TCS # 318

 

      So, a couple weeks ago, on the morning of September 11 (which was the 11^th Anniversary) I was awoken by a voice. Now, usually I don’t hear “little voices” waking me up but, this was different, the voice was of My Guardian Angel, Lynee and her voice said, “We need to talk”. So, I thought about it all that day about what she needed to tell me, let alone the question of how to talk to her. I’ve heard that when it comes to talking with God and Angels, it requires intense concentrating to hear exactly what they are trying to say. So, I thought about doing it in a way that I understand, by writing. So, what I thought about doing was writing a conversation with her via Microsoft Word. I wanted to stage it as if I was IM-ing a friend of mine the old fashioned way; meaning, just Im-ing before there was Facebook or Myspace. Anyway, I found that My Computer didn’t work. So, I figured I would use my IPad. I thought there has got to be some other way of doing this, since the A/C adapter from my computer would not charge it, so I thought. So I used the notes program on the IPad, but I wasn’t sure what she would say, or how I was going to feel about the thought that Lynee was going to actually talk to me while I wrote. This was a crazy thing, but I thought I would just go with it and see what happens.

Well, I began to talk with her like I was talking to a friend who was chatting with me on the computer. I began the conversation with “Hey, Lynee!” She responded with “Hey! Good to hear from you, finally.” At this moment I stopped and thought “Oh! Schniekies! There was a response!”  So I continued to respond back to her, and before I knew it, there was a conversation going between us. I felt she expressed a genuine love and caring about me and my well being. So, she assured me that she was ok, then she gave me some good advice and a few warnings, which I chose not to really pay attention to, and now crazy things are happening to me and my electronics. Blame it all on the full moon, the time of year, coincidence, or Lynee, but let Me tell you what negative energy can do to someone, which is what she was trying to tell me about. My Mom talks about positive and negative people and events, and how they can affect you and your health, but I never thought it would happen to me. Well, one thing after another happened. I was sick this past weekend, and I rarely get sick. My 2 year old MAC Computer would not turn on, which I thought it was not charging, so my Mom bought a new charger only to find that it is the Mother Board that is blown. Then, I upgrade My Ipad and it took away my reason for living…Google Streetview, Youtube and all my Bookmarks! What is happening???

Now, all I can hear is Lynee telling me “I tried to tell You, Christian! You are such a happy guy! What happened? Negative energy will hurt you; positive is your friend, like your Mom said!” I agree with them! I do not feel good inside when negativity gets me down, even for 1 day.

All in all, negative energy killed my Mother Board on my computer and made my body sick for days. Don’t let this happen to You!  Listen to your Guardian Angel when She talks to You.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Listen to Your Guardian Angel, they are usually right!

  

The Christianville Spirit: Fun Through My Eyes

The Christianville Spirit 

The Spirit that Opens Your Heart

September 19, 2012-TCS # 317

So, Last Saturday, My Mom, My Brother, and I went to a soapbox derby, it was really awesome. We had heard about it for several weeks called Red Bull Soapbox Derby. I had never been to one before but, I had heard of them because they have one in Austin where they drive the soapbox car into the lake there. Anyway, so I thought, “That would be really cool to see.” I told My Brother and My Mom about it and they said, “Let’s Go!” Anyway, I was looking forward to it but, I forgot one little-but-big thing, My Issue with Costumes. Now, I’ve had an issue with Costumes since I was young. I never really liked Costumes or Halloween. Now, My only favorite part was the Candy and one year, dressing like a Doctor. But, other than that, I haven’t enjoyed it, I just went along with it like everyone else. You See, I don’t like costumes for several reasons, one is The Masks, I’d rather talk to a person’s face rather than a scary mask with the person’s voice muffed in it. Many of them, I don’t like the appearance of like how they do the eyes on it, it grosses me out. Secondly, I REALLY hate those costumes that are large and blown up. By The Way, I didn’t know about the blow up costumes until I one day, a guy in one of those came up to me while I was working at the Frisco Roughriders Baseball Stadium. I mean, you probably could figure out that if something larger than you comes up to you, it’s going to be scary. Anyway, without trailing too far, I’m going back to the Soapbox Race. So, we decided to walk by all the soapbox cars, which I thought would be funny and it was, but, I forgot the dang costume thing, once I realized that, I did what I normally do. I make what My Mom calls, “The I’m going to be sick or something’s bothering me face.” And yes, I felt it too. So, I tried looking further ahead to see different cars without people too dressed up or I’d look at the people walking by. Now, the point of going to the race, to me, was seeing the race. Although, it did help in a way to see the cars because you knew which you were going to see first and which you were going to see last or if you didn’t stay around, you would miss. Now, I do have to give some compliments  because Red Bull paid a lot of money to put all this together and it was the first one in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area. But, My Highlight was that, which I didn’t know, Lolo Jones was there. By The Way, If you’re wondering who Lolo Jones is, she is an Olympic Hurdle Champion and she has been through a lot to get where she is. What amazed me was that she was there because she had been in Washington to see the president the day before. The Race was alot of fun to watch especially when you could look one way and see the cars coming down the track, and look the way and see the details of the race on the big TV screens setup. It was funny to watch them perform then, get in their car and drive down the hill without falling apart or crashing, which many did. The cars had to go over 2 jumps, around one obstacle, and over the “Widow Maker” without falling apart. It was great fun! First, I do want to remind parents with Halloween coming, though it may be fun, you child may have a fear they can’t explain and since you can’t see through their eyes to see what their world looks like, keep it in mind that it might be a bit scary to them like it is to me. All in all, People with PTLS love to have fun and go to these events, but remember they see them differently.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Life is fun, but think about who’s eyes it’s being seen through.   

The Christianville Spirit: Texting God

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

September 12, 2012-TCS # 316

Now, I’m going to let you know that This Week’s Newsletter to most people may sound a bit unconventional, but I promise you it will make sense in the end.  So, for those Christians of all ages out there, have you ever seen or heard the phrase, “God is Cool!” in a church or ministry? Well, don’t get me wrong, God is THE most awesome God in the World, but to be honest, it has always been hard to make God sound cool. You See, when people think of God, Jesus, Mary, and Other Angels; People know that there are 3 ways in connecting with God, through Praying, Fasting(otherwise known as the original meaning of Lent), and following his Commandments. Often Times, when People are wanting or needing something, they will pray, “God, Send Me a Sign or Something!” But to God, when it comes to Signs and Communicating that’s often how he does it, but to Young People it may seem a bit old fashioned, especially in this day of Technology. Now, most people who have lived on Earth for a while will tell you that you can communicate via Praying or sitting in a quiet place and try really hard to hear him speak to you. But, to people who are My Age, that doesn’t always make sense or really work out for them. I talked to My Mom, the other night, about an easier way of communicating with God and Spirits. Well, most people know that there are Signs (like Lights flickering on and off, Miracles, or sudden Anxiety) and then, there are the “Confirmation Codes” which are a sequence of numbers like 111, 222, 333 and other numbers like 2,3,7,11,12 just to name a few. But, what if God decided to get on the technology bandwagon and become a bit more Modernized. You Know, Where You and God can have nightly conversations whenever you want or just need to talk via something like Text Messages, Facebook Message, or Phone Calls. My Mom and I got a good laugh talking about this and she told me, “Can you imagine If your Ipad rang with harp sounds and it was God, Skypeing or FaceTiming You?”. Honestly, I personally, would rather work with Text Messages or Facebook Messages. But, she asked “Would you answer his call?” (now, this is a Serious Question). So, whenever your doing right or wrong He’ll send you a message either encouraging you to keep going or stop what your doing; also, maybe God gets a little bored too and maybe he wants to talk to you about the stuff going on in his life. I mean, God’s Life in Heaven, isn’t perfect, you know. Of Course, it would be a little weird when a Text from God says, “We need to Talk. Now!” Then you know your in trouble. But, I believe though, that it certainly helps Young People like Teens and Young Adults communication with God in their way, of course there’s always Praying in between but, when you really need Him, just Text Him at 333 or Contact Him on Facebook under “Your Lord, God”. And, if you want there’s always, Skype and FaceTime, or Twitter; the list goes on. So, I don’t mean to sound sacrilegious, but it is an interesting thought, if not, funny to envision God sitting in Heaven with His Computer, Ipad & Iphone, checking in on everyone. But, the real question is when God calls “Would you answer?”. All in all, God is with us all the time, whether He’s modernized or not. and, He is Cool!  

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Go Ahead and ring God up, he’ll always answer. 

The Christianville Spirit: Our Neighborhood Gathering

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Opens Your Eyes

September 5, 2012-TCS # 315

So, for those who live outside The US, this past Monday was a day called Labor Day. In America, Labor Day means the “unofficial end of summer” so we have the last cookout of the season. So, that brings us to what happened to us during Labor Day Weekend. You See, recently on our street, we have decided have a monthly gathering of Neighbors were we pick the place, which is usually our neighbor, Woody’s House (the one that threw me the surprise birthday party last month) and we choose a theme like a Burgers & Chicken Cookout or a Lobster Bake. Anyway, we usually have them on either the first or second Saturday of the Month, depending on everyone’s schedule. This Time, however, we had it on a Sunday instead, to make it unique and to celebrate our neighbor Paul’s Birthday. Anyway, it’s always fun meeting and talking with the Neighbors to see what’s going on with Everyone. Plus, it’s a bonus because I love to talk to people. Most of My Childhood, until I was around 7, as My Mom will point out was spend with me not talking and just mumbling. So, gradually, My Voice has gotten much clearer and as well as full length sentences come out of my mouth. So, My Mom always likes to say that, “He spent most of his childhood not talking, and now, he’s making up for it.” Of Course, though, “Making Up for it” does have it’s challenges because I have a lack of a filter. So, usually whenever we go to a party or gathering, My Mom always tells me, “Do not talk about Politics, Religion, or The News unless someone else brings it up.” The Reason for that is because I like to share my knowledge about how the News, Politics, History and Geography all relate. However, sometimes, I just want to tell everyone the news and what’s going on but, remember the whole, “No Politics and Religion.” Anyway, we had a gathering next door on Monday Night to eat the leftovers from the cookout the day before. So, it turns out that one of the people who came was a retired Colonel  named Jack and his wife Miss Patti. Once they came, they started talking about the Democratic Convention and then, I jumped in thrill because I could talk to him about Politics (from the Right-wing side) and even better, I got to talk to Miss Patti about Religion, both of the no-no’s My Mom says I shouldn’t talk about. Now, I have to say though, that the conversation I had with Miss Patti about all the News/Politics/Religion, it got to a pretty deep talk about all of it, more than I’ve had with anyone. Not Only That, I got to tell her about My “Confirmation Codes,” 11 and 2. And, she told me the meanings of those numbers as well as the meaning of “God’s Phone Number,” 333. Miss Patti explained the numbers like this, 11 means two souls and oneness with God. She says the number 2 means, Adam & Eve, Man & Women, or 2 of every kind of Animal in Noah’s Ark. and, finally 333 means both, “Holy, Holy, Holy”, “Good, Better, Best”, or “Trinity, Trinity, Trinity.” So, it really helped me to know the meanings of the numbers that I use all the time. So, I was very happy to talk with her about all of that and she was very welcoming to talk about it with me. Of Course, one of the other favorite parts is to talk to Woody’s wife, Robin about all the news too as well as other things. She’s such a great listener. I feel loved and cared about, whenever we get together. I love everyone and Thank You for being such awesome Neighbors.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. We should all have Neighborhood Gatherings to get to know your neighbors because you never know when your going to need them.