Natalia Santana

"The young can run faster, but the old know the shortcuts."

        Writing a fiction book takes much creativity and work.  Maybe you came up with  what seems a great idea. But now... the first idea seems dull. But you keep on working with what's coming next. Suddenly, you realize that the protagonist lacks personality, history, and future; your plot is boring; and your book is... a mess!!!          Well... want some help? I do. I started thinking about several books and I noticed that each protagonist experiences three things throughout the book.      At first he/she has a goal. Some want something-- such as Mary in the Secret Garden; she wants to find the key to the garden and everything she does focuses on that....till she finds her cousin. Now her goal would be to help him recover from his illness. In the Chronicles of Narnia, the four children find Narnia and when Edmund goes with the White Witch, their goal is to find/rescue Edmund. But when they meet Aslan and all the other creatures, they have a secondary goal: saving Narnia. So

Books often disapoint me: they all end--Natalia ;)

"Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of." Benjamin Franklin.

-http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/10/24/hurricane-patricia-weakens-to-category-4-as-it-moves-through-mexico/  - http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/10/23/tropical-storm-patricia-could-become-major-hurricane-warning-issued-for-mexico/                                The hurricane “Patricia” was a hurricane category 5. It was labeled as the strongest in the Western Hemisphere.  Patricia landed on the Pacific Coast of Mexico Friday at 6:30 p.m. Its winds blew at 200 miles per hour, making it into the strongest storm in the eastern Pacific and Atlantic. The power of this hurricane was comparable to that of Typhoon Haiyan, which left more than 7,300 dead or missing.                                 All this set the Pacific Coast on a state of emergency. The governor of Colima closed schools on Friday and the people on beaches like Puerto Vallarta became desperate to depart. Free plane flights to the city of Guadalajara were given. Three airports closed on Manzanillo, Puerto Vallart

       Johann Sebastian Bach was a talented composer of the Baroque Period. Apart from writing hundreds of amazing pieces, he was the first to teach students the rule of curving the fingers while they  play and to use all of the fingers. His largest work was the two-hour  Mass in B Minor,  in which he gloriously depicted the life of Christ.  Today he is considered one of the most important composers in the history of music.     Bach was a devout Lutheran and his goal in life was to compose "well-regulated church music to the glory of God".  He began his sacred pieces with "JJ", Jesu Juva in Latin-- in English, it means "Jesus, help". And he ended with "SDG": To God alone the Glory.  By Natalia

    Paul said in Romans 7, " S o I find this law at work:  Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me ." (NIV)           We were born with a sin nature. We are sinners. Because God loved us, he sent his Son to die on the cross for us to free us from the final consequence of our sin (Romans 6:23). But for a reason, he let something the Bible calls the Flesh to remain in us.  " For I know that in me (that is, in my  flesh ,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. " Romans 7:18.       We try and try to be good... but eventually fail. We have the flesh in us that keeps us from pleasing God. The flesh can't produce anything that pleases God. "In my flesh dwelleth no good thing.   But God in His mercy, provided a way out. When Jesus died in the cross, we were crucified with him as well!     "   I have been crucified with Christ [that is, in Him I have shared His cruc

A God-fearing scientist, Issac Newton gave the credit for all his discoveries to scientists before him: "If I have seen a little farther than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants ." Issac Newton .  Knowing the importance of his discoveries, this is humility to be admired. .

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art, like the universe itself (for God did not need to create). It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival." C.S. Lewis

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭5:1-2‬

“Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭4:4-6‬ ‭

“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭3:10-12‬ ‭

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith,"  (Romans 1:16-17).

 By Natalia S.N.  Sources: www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34131911  and Europe’s migration crisis: “Not giving us likeGermany,” by Soeren Kern .                   Due to the civil war on Syria, poverty on Kosovo, violence on Afghanistan, and other issues on countries such as Iraq and Albania, masses of people are fleeing their homeland to seek a better place to live, though many die on the hazardous journey.                   The U.N. country of Germany has its doors open to immigrants, giving free food and clothing, along with a monthly cash payment of $160. Many migrants arriving in Hungary do not stay and continue on to Germany.  Germany is the country receiving more immigrants, having 222,000 asylum applications.  The month of August of 2015 had the highest number of immigrants reaching more than 100,000.                   Other U.N. countries are also giving aid to all the migrants. Spain gives six months of financial assistance, after which many go on to more generou

"Trust in the the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6).

                                             A Storm By Natalia The waters of the sea That calmly dance along May make you sea a monster As tall as it is strong A wave may seem so tranquil Like an infant dog at play; The dog turns to a lion Striking at its prey The swallowing of troops of ships You read about in books Is real and not just fiction The sea is not a brook The clashing plus the splashing Of the sea and up above Then breaks to calm its rains And turns into a pup