Musical Monday and Fictional Apologies

Alright, first I guess I'll start by saying that it's been a really rough week, and I'm sad to say that I think I'm going to have to (at least temporarily) discontinue my Fictional Friday posts. I do still plan to do the Musical Monday posts though, which brings me to my next point.

This has been a really rough week for me, but here I've got a song reminding us not to forget to turn our eyes toward God even when things are going great. There's the silly church sign saying, "Is God your steering wheel or your spare tire?" It is funny, but at the same time, there's some truth to it. Is He something you use to guide you at every turn in your life, or is he just something you pull out when something else you depend on stops working?

Seven Places - Even When Lyrics

This week, I prayed, one time
My phone, it rang, I put You on the other line
And now my thoughts they drift around
My knees remain unacquainted with the ground
Unless my faith is put to the test and I am forced to bow
Although I'm in this flesh it doesn't mean You shouldn't have the best
from me, from me

[Chorus:]
Even when my eyes are dry
even when my soul is tired
even when my hands are heavy, I will lift them up to Yu
It's not about how I feel, oh Lord I am here for Yu
I exist for you

I close my eyes but all I see
Is a background of black, bouncy squiggly lines
And this week's mistakes coming back to mind but
I will lift my voice and make a joyful sound
Forget about me, I only get me down
Although I cannot see it doesn't mean I shouldn't sing to You, to You

[Chorus]

You've given me Your life and have held mine together yet I find
Excuses to slouch in my pew
But when glory divine
Is sitting in my very presence, the least that I can do
Is give my all to You, give my all to You

[Chorus]

Fictional Friday Returns!

I'm sorry it's been so long since we got to see what's been happening to Jerry. Let's see how he's doing:

Jerry woke in a cold sweat, surprised at first by his surroundings. As he regained consciousness, his mind shifted forward in time to his current location. Over the past months, the memory of that night had haunted his dreams. Each time he woke wondering if there had been something else he could have done to save her. Each time, he wound up frustrated by the knowledge that it didn’t matter anymore. She wasn’t coming back; she was dead now and he couldn’t do anything about it.

Opening his eyes, he found some strange comfort in the fact that his fire had gone out in the night. Having something to do always seemed to help, even if it was a simple task like starting a fire. A little food in his stomach couldn’t hurt either.

As he struck his flint on the dull edge of his knife trying to light the small pile of tinder, his mind began to wander again. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. He kept seeing her face, her beautiful eyes making contact with his before closing forever.

Shaking his head, he fought off the memories and struggled with shaking hands to get the tiny sparks to turn into a small flame. After working for several minutes and gradually adding more kindling, he had a large enough fire.

He set up a spit to roast the rest of the small deer he had killed a week ago. As he waited for the meat to cook, he chewed thoughtfully on the last of the dry bread he had picked up at the last town he passed.

This time however, his thoughts didn’t linger on the recent past. No. They now sought the future. He had been camping here for almost two weeks now. He no longer felt like he could just stay here mourning. He needed to do something. He wasn’t sure exactly how he would go about it, but he needed to avenge her death. It was time. As soon as he’d finished his breakfast, he would set out after the man who’d killed his Samantha.

Alright, before you start complaining about the death, let me remind you that you guys chose that the main driving force in this story should be revenge. I had to give him something to be vengeful about didn't I?

Now for the next choice. What should Jerry do after breakfast?

A.) Get food, he's out!
B.) Head in the direction he thinks this mysterious murdered went.
C.) Head to the nearest town, he can get food and try to dig up some leads on this guy.
D.) Other(Tell me what you think he should do).

Fictional Friday - It All Starts Here

Alright, it's been a long day, so this is coming kind of late. It was pretty fun though. I don't normally begin writing something without planning out out first(I can't plan too much since you guys are choosing where this goes). That should make this interesting. I think it worked for the first entry, hopefully it will continue to work through the rest of the story. I wasn't really sure how long to make it. I'm sure I'll get more a feel for that, as this goes. Any comments on the length(or the writing in general) are welcome. I'm open to criticism as long as it's constructive. Make sure you remember to vote too! Anyway, here is the first entry in this, so far, nameless story.

Jerry sat in shock as he watched the men disappear into the dense forest dragging Samantha with them. He tried to cry out, but no words came. All that came out were some vague guttural noises.

Looking around at the small glade, a flood of emotions and memories overwhelmed him. Memories of the night they discovered the glade. They had snuck away from their childhood responsibilities to be together. Over the years, they had frequently come back to this place when they wanted to be alone.

This time, they had come to hide. A messenger had come to warn them that the men were coming for Sam, but it was too late. They must have seen the two of them running off into the woods. They knew it wasn’t a very good hiding spot, but they couldn’t think of anywhere else to go.

A sudden clap of thunder and flash of lightning brought Jerry back to the present. Already the footsteps were fading. Before long, he would not be able to hear them. He had to find some way to get loose. The men had forced him to the ground before wrapping his arms behind his back and around a tree. He had not seen what they used to tie his wrists together, but it felt like a rough cloth of some kind.

As he struggled to free himself, a heavy rain began to fall. After several minutes of pulling, twisting, tugging, writhing, and any combination of other movements he thought might loosen his bonds, his wrists began to bleed. He didn’t notice the pain though. All he noticed was that the rain had began to soak into the cloth that bound his hands. Gradually, his efforts were loosening his restraints.

By the time he was free, nearly an hour had passed since Samantha had been dragged away. As soon as the wet bloody rag fell from his wrists, he stood up to begin the chase. He made it three steps before collapsing. He wouldn’t have made it that far if not for the momentum from his right leg. His left leg had apparently been dislocated at the hip during the fight. The sudden jolt of pain made his stomach churn. Moments later, he lay unconscious on the ground.

What should Jerry do when he regains consciousness?
A)Begin chasing after Samantha and her captors immediately! He's got to make up for lost time.
B)Go back to the village, see if anyone else was injured/taken, and hopefully find some more people to help.
C)Heal up and then begin intense physical training so he will have the strength to fend of the dangers of his coming adventure.


Oh and by the way, the last vote decided that the main character's primary driving force in this tale will be his lust for revenge.

Fictional Fridays?

Hmm... So I've got "Musical Mondays," right? Well, why not "Fictional Fridays"?

It's time to vote on some more details of the "Choose Your Own Adventure" posts I'm going to be doing. The first vote decided that the main character is going to be an animal. With that out of the way, there's one more thing to decide on before the real fun begins.

What will the main character's primary goal be?

A)Rescue a "damsel in distress"
B)Rid the world of some great evil force(this one may be a part of it if any of the others are chosen, but not necessarily his main focus)
C)Revenge for something from his past(perhaps a murdered friend or family member)
D)To become more powerful

Choose Your Own Adventure!

With all the wandering my mind does, I'm bound to come across a good idea now and then. I think I've done just that today. Hopefully some of you will agree, because this idea won't really work if I'm the only one that likes it.

Do you remember those "choose your own adventure" books? You know the ones where it gives you the option to choose what the main character does in each potentially hazardous situation? For example:

"The goblins are quickly closing in, but you've run into the edge of a vast canyon. You nearly fall as you look over the edge noticing that the great river below looks like a small trickling stream. Turning around to look for some other means of escape, you see that you've been surrounded by a small army of disfigured green creatures."

"If you'd like to stand and fight the goblins, turn to page 94.
If you'd like to surrender to the goblins, turn to page 121.
If you'd like to jump into the canyon below, turn to page 62."

Well, my idea was that I could do something like that with my blog. I can write a story, and allow you, the reader, to control what happens between each section. Taking it a step farther, I'm going to even let you choose who the main character is before I start writing. So, here is the first choice:

Should the main character be:
A) A boy/man?
B) A girl/woman?
C) An animal?
D) An inanimate object that has somehow been given the ability to move around and interact with it's environment, possibly even the ability to speak?


Now just post a comment with your choice. This one probably isn't too bad, but for future reference, choose carefully. I'm giving you the power to control the story, but that power may be somewhat of a monkey's paw. You may not always get what you're expecting.