You being your harshest Critic

By V.J. Wakefield

Now, this title may seem a little strange, but for some Christians and other people, in general, it is true. You are your harshest critic. What I mean is that sometimes you are too hard on yourself. Have you ever had thoughts in your head that go along the lines of this?:

“I suck.”

” I am so stupid!”

“I will never be able to get through this.”

“I can’t do anything right!”

This is what it means to be hard on yourself. And this can start in your brain as one little voice, but over time it can get louder and louder as you face more challenges, and it can make your mind become darker and darker as these thoughts progress. You might stop asking for help. You may start to compare yourself to others around you and you might isolate yourself and be horrible to your family and friends. I should know all of this because I was one of these people.

See, I was never good at math and geometry, and during the school year, I had the mentality of being hard on myself which I mistook for determination. I didn’t do well in the school year which started my mentality over the summer. That I can’t get the answers right and that I couldn’t do it. I carried this into the summer school program that my parents signed me up for. I didn’t see that they were trying to help, and instead, the voice started to get louder. You can’t do it. You’ll do worse than this year. So I tried my hardest to prove myself wrong.

At first, the class for me went off to a rocky start. I was so stressed out and confused that I would go home a little bit salty after each day because I was hard on myself for not understanding the concepts, which ended up in me not asking my parents for help on them. And one of them was an engineer before becoming a teacher to support us when she came to the US. I just sat done on the couch and watched baking shows. (They didn’t give us homework). However, God didn’t give up on me.

He told me the truth through me finally asking my mother for help. When I did it was all a little clearer. However, we had to learn a whole new concept from what I reviewed with my mom, which was about the last test that I took which wasn’t good. I had trouble once again, and went home, but reviewed it with my mother, and it started to click for me. When night rolled around, and after I prayed and went to bed, God had me thinking about my situation. Through Him I was able to find out that I was being too hard on myself, which then made the voice louder, criticizing me on being too hard on myself. The next day I looked up what it meant to be hard on yourself, and as I read through the questions the article asked me, I thought more about them. God was telling me that if I continue this, I will never succeed, and I will never get a good grade. I finally concluded that the thoughts are not what I want. I needed to stop.

Now pause. Some might be confused and write a lengthy comment about how I might be wrong about not being hard on myself. However, according to The Bible and to an article called 10 Reasons to Stop Being Hard on Yourself By Kelly Balarie, Jesus has already taken all of the guilt and shame and nailed it to that cross. And when it was done all of your guilt is washed away. So give Him your guilt, shame, and thoughts. He will help you and fix you. You can’t succeed without Him. It may seem so, but really, He’s the one helping you. Unpause. So I gave Him my thoughts and commanded my thoughts to be obedient to Jesus at once in His name, which is also written in The Bible: 2 Corinthians 10:5: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” And I immediately felt so much better and did much better in class. However, the biggest test I had was the semester 1 final exam.

I sat done at my usual desk. I quickly review the notes and waited for the test to start. Before I did this, I gave my thoughts to Jesus. I let Him take control. First part comes onto my desk. I work hard but then the thoughts started again. I finished the first part and watched the teacher grade the part. I saw him circle some questions. The thoughts come back. I tell them that I captured them and to be obedient to Jesus in His name. I then started the second part. I was laser focused on part 2. My mind was clear. No voices. Only one song (which was Hamilton for some reason). I then checked over my answers and handed them into the teacher. Then the results come in. I didn’t feel dread anymore. Instead, I felt hope. I had a C and a B for the school year and a D and an F for the final exams. But I knew that this time was different.

I got a B+.

My heart leaped out of my throat. I was smiling like an idiot, I turned to my brother (a freshman who wanted to take the class with me), and showed him my score. He was so happy for me. I immediately emailed my dad and told him what happened, and the car ride home was more pleasant for me. My mom was so proud of me, and I was satisfied. I then praised God. I thanked Him for getting me out of the evil place I was in. For helping me on the test and helping me do way more better in geometry. He is good.

Which leads to today. Depending on when you see this, June 21st is when my B+ happened, and I had an urging to tell people my story. To let them know that they should stop being hard on themselves and let Jesus take all of their guilt and pain, and trust Him to help them and take away all of the evil and replace it with hope. I hope you learned something from this article and true story. Don’t be hard on yourself, if you do, you’ll never succeed.

Thank you for reading!

Kelly Balarie’s Blog and post:

https://purposefulfaith.com/hard-on-yourself/

The Scripture used:

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+10%3A5&version=NIV

June 22, 2019 4

Scripture tales: A Prideful Grade Part 2

By V.J Wakefeild

After school, day by day, Grace filled in the questions on the review and filled the cheat sheet. And day by day she asked questions and worked hard. “Wow, Grace!” Mr. Gern said. “I am impressed by all of your hard work!” “Well, it’s nothing really. I’m just happy that I got my questions answered.” On the other hand, however, Caleb has slacked off on his assignment, partially filled the cheat sheet and had hardly answered the questions. After class, he would always say to Grace, “I am just tasting that A! I know through my intelligence, I will get it!” One day Grace stopped and said, “Dude. Just stop being prideful and do your work.” He looked at her like she had three arms. “I am not being prideful!” “Dude, you are! You always talk about how great you are at Chemistry without doing any of the work!” He paused. “How do you know?” “Well, every time you say you do your work, I see you on social media having a good time with friends!” “I know, I am sorry about lying, but I am not prideful.” She reached up and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Dude, this will snowball into something really bad. I just know it! Plus, The Bible said not to be prideful or else bad stuff will occur. Just think about it.” She carried on down the hall without him or saying a word.

The day of the final eventually came up. Grace turned in her assignment completed to the teacher as he went down the row. She turned to Caleb, who was sitting next to her in class. When the teacher came around to Caleb, he handed in his assignment. “Caleb.” “Yes, Mr.Gern?” “Why is this assignment half completed?” “I, uh, didn’t finish in time.” “Mhm.” The teacher walked away shaking his head. Grace got worried for him but then concentrated on the test in front of her. Her cheat sheet was done. Caleb’s wasn’t. After the exam was over, the students burst out of the classroom and sprinted out of the school, being that all of the subject’s exams were over. Scores came in the very next day. “Hey, Caleb, what did you get?” Grace said through the phone. “Well…” “Me first?” “Yes please.” She took a deep breath in. “I got an A. What about you?” There was silence. Then his voice broke out. ” A D.” “Wow.” “Yeah.” She can sense the disappointment through his tone. “At least it is only worth 10%. Right?” Silence again. “I have to go to summer school and retake the whole class because my parents want me to get an A because the overall grade went down to a C.” “Wow.” “I should have listened to you.” “It’s okay dude. Just don’t be prideful.” “Okay.” Grace stopped to take it all in. “Well, goodbye then.” “Bye.”

Message: Proverbs 3:34 : He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble.

Please comment about this and what you would have done in either Grace or Caleb’s situation.

Thank you for reading!

June 16, 2019 0

Scripture tales: A Prideful Grade Part 1

By V.J Wakefield

Season 1 Episode 1

“Today I will give you the tools to prepare for the final exam.” Said Mr. Gern, the chemistry teacher. The entire class groaned as the pressure of finals suddenly thickened the air. “I will give you the review guide and a cheat sheet to prepare for the test and to be eligible for the curve. I am expecting the review guide to be completed by the day of the final along with the cheat sheet which can be used during the test.” As he went around passing out the thick packets and pink sheets, Grace started to nervously twist her grey hair between her fingers. She knew that she was good at chemistry, but she did not really think highly how well she was at it. She knew that she had to prepare for this test, even though she was pretty good at it. The bell rang and she headed out of class. “Hey, shorty Gracie.” “Hey, Caleb.” Caleb, her best friend, always called her this because of his tall and lanky stature compared to her. ” Are you nervous about the test?” She asked him. “No, not really. Besides, I am really good at chemistry. I got an A on the last test, so I expect this one to go swimmingly.” She looked at him strangely. “But that was only one test dude. How do you know that you’ll get an A on this one?” He pauses, then says “Because I’m pretty good at it. What about you?” “I am pretty nervous. I am hoping to get all of my questions out and finish what needs to be done.” Caleb chuckles as they turn the corner towards grace’s art class and the library. “Well, in my opinion, that is something to flaunt off. Bye.” He walks off towards the library as she enters her class. But isn’t that pride? She thought.

June 16, 2019 0

What is to come

By V.J Wakefield

Hello everyone, welcome to another one of these blogging updates. Today I will talk about a new blog series (yes series!) that I am currently working on, and on my family trip. So let’s get into it.

So first is the series. What this series is about is scripture, however, it is stories inspired by the scripture. What I mean is that I will take a certain scripture and will write a short story around it to teach others about what the scripture means through it. Hopefully, it will teach others about the scripture and how it applies to life today and what the lesson can be learned from it. I was inspired by Le Petit Muse (Diana Tyler), who did something like this with her own characters, so please check out her blog, which I will put the link below. I will hopefully post the first story today so expect this real soon. It will be called Scripture Tales. And hopefully, it will come out either once or twice a week.

Next, I will talk about my family trip. Soon my family and I will go on a trip, so expect some more pictures and a slow down in posts. I just wanted to give you all a heads up for this.

The link to Diana Tyler’s blog:

https://lapetitmuse.wordpress.com/

Please comment any suggestions about this.

My email address is :

storiesofhopeforgod@gmail.com

Thanks for Reading!

June 16, 2019 0

Venezuela Update #4

By V.J Wakefield

It’s that time again! It’s Venezuela update time! This time the article that we are using today is by BBC News which is called Venezuela crisis: Migrants dash to cross Peru border. So let’s get into this.

As the title of the article suggests, along with the article, ” Thousands of Venezuelans have rushed to cross into Peru in a bid to beat the introduction of tougher migration laws” (BBC Para, 1). Since we talked about the Peru border opening up, it is logical that the people would leave, and this does sound good because of ” The country’s imploding economy has resulted in high unemployment and shortages of food and medicine, and hundreds of thousands of people are said to be in need of humanitarian aid” (BBC Para,5). However, according to my mom, a Venezuelan woman who knows her people, most might not want to leave or may be unable to find stable jobs. Let me explain.

Yes, most people would want to leave, “Marianni Luzardo was travelling to Peru’s northern border with her two daughters on Friday. “In Venezuela it is almost impossible to get a passport,” she told the Associated Press. “We need to get to Peru soon” (BBC Para 7), however, I have seen a trend of people not wanting to leave either because they are loyal to the president, or because they were living in Venezuela their whole lives and leaving would be leaving a piece of themselves behind. My mother has put it like this, ” If they leave, most likely the hardworking engineers would start cleaning the roads.”

Here is the chart of the migration out of Venezuela:

Due to the migration, “Latin American countries host the vast majority of Venezuelan migrants and refugees. Colombia has the most at 1.3 million, followed by Peru with 768,000, according to UN figures” (BBC Para,11). Additionally “Nearly 6,000 Venezuelans entered through the border town of Tumbes on Thursday, officials said, which is almost three times the daily average” ( BBC Para, 11 ). Additionaly, “Nearly 6,000 Venezuelans entered through the border town of Tumbes on Thursday, officials said, which is almost three times the daily average” (BBC Para, ). This means that there might be more regulations on migrations out of the country, which is actually happening now in Peru, as said by Peru’s President, Martin Vizcarra “”Our country has opened its arms to more than 800,000 Venezuelans,” he told reporters at an event in the northern city of Piura. “I think it’s completely logical and justified to ask them to bring visas to ensure better control of who enters.”” (BBC Para, 10). But luckily, as said by the president of Peru and the article, “Prior to Saturday’s deadline, Venezuelan citizens wanting to enter Peru only require a national ID card” (BBC Para, 6).

Please read the article that I have used for this article: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-48644801

Here is the citation for credit reasons:

“Venezuela Crisis: Migrants Dash to Cross Peru Border.” BBC News, BBC, 15 June 2019, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-48644801.

Thank you for reading!

Please comment what you think about this situation.

June 15, 2019 1

Alzhiemer’s PREVENTION

BY V.J Wakefield

It may seem hard to believe this, but it is absolutely true. There is a new drug, called 3K3A-APC, which may prevent Alzheimer’s disease. According to the website Medical News Today called Experimental drug may prevent Alzheimer’s disease written by Tim Newman and fact-checked by Isabel Godfrey, it was written that there is “A drug that scientists are currently developing to treat stroke survivors might also help stave off Alzheimer’s disease” (Newman para 1). This suggests scientists are developing a new kind of drug which, according to the article, is called “3K3A-APC” (Newman para 10).

So what is it? Well according to the article, ” 3K3A-APC is a modified version of activated C protein, which is a blood-based protein that protects brain cells and blood vessels from damage due to inflammation” (Newman, para 10). As stated above, the activated C protein is an influential portion of the new drug. What it really is, is ” a powerful anticoagulant. However, the alterations that scientists have made to the newly modified version has reduced its anticoagulant properties by around 90 percent while maintaining its protective benefits” (Newman para 11). The article also lays out how the new drug actually works, however you have to understand what it is fighting against, which is BACE1. This is an enzyme which is involved in the creation of the plaques that is in beta-amyloid, the enzymes that create Alzheimer’s disease. This is what they are trying to get rid of.

So, now onto what the drug actually does. This medication does not act like a regular Alzheimer’s drug. According to the article, ” In the past, scientists have tried using various compounds to block BACE1. So far, this has not led to new drugs. However, they have shown that interfering with BACE1 reduces Alzheimer’s plaques in the brain. This current medication uses a slightly different approach as it blocks the production of the enzyme rather than blocking the enzyme itself” (Newman para,22).

However, it has to be apparent that this is just in the beginning stages of development and that it has some side effects involved. As stated, “The drug is currently under development to treat brain bleeds in people who have experienced a stroke. So far, the drug seems to reduce bleeding in the brain with few side effects or safety concerns” (Newman para 13). Additionally, they have said that the testing had “… encouraging results” (Newman para 12).

Please read the article that I have used for this piece:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324172.php

Here is the citation for credit reasons:

Newman, Tim. “Experimental Drug May Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, 16 Jan. 2019, http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324172.php.

Please comment what you think about this new finding and praises to God!

Thank you for reading!

June 11, 2019 0

Cancer CURE

By V.J. Wakefield

You might think that this is ridiculous. That this is not possible and that this is clickbait. But you’d be wrong. According to the article, Scientists believe they will have ‘a complete cure for cancer’ within the year by Harry Brent, a reporter for The Irish Post, they said that, as the title already suggests, “ISRAELI SCIENTISTS believe they might have just found the cure for cancer and say they will be able to offer it to patients within the year” (Brent, para 1). This is game-changing in the field of medicine. This might potentially save lives without any side effects, as the article suggests, and a man they interviewed named Dan Arido who worked for the treatment (which is called MuTaTo which means Multi-target toxin) said “Our cancer cure will be effective from day one, will last a duration of a few weeks and will have no or minimal side-effects at a much lower cost than most other treatments on the market,” he added” ( Brent, para 5). This would mean that there would be no side effects like hair loss which usually comes with cancer treatment. Now the type of cancer this can be used for is not very specifically pointed to in the article, however, it might be all the cancers because it always refers to it as ‘the cancer’. Hopefully, there will be joy and hope from now and into the future for people who has cancer or people who had been impacted by cancer.

Please check out the link to the article below please!:

https://www.irishpost.com/news/scientists-believe-will-complete-cure-cancer-within-year-167904

Here is the citation for credit reasons:

Brent, Harry. “Scientists Believe They Will Have ‘a Complete Cure for Cancer’ within the Year.” The Irish Post, The Irish Post, 9 June 2019, http://www.irishpost.com/news/scientists-believe-will-complete-cure-cancer-within-year-167904.

Please comment your thoughts on this!

Thank you for watching!

June 10, 2019 2

Venezuela update #3

By V.J. Wakefield

Today is once again Venezuela update number three and today we will be talking about the article Venezuela partially opens border with Colombia that was shut in February written by a reporter for Reuters named Brian Ellsworth and Deisy Buitrago. Also edited by Leslie Adler.
The article states that "Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Friday announced a partial opening of the country’s border with Colombia, which his government closed in February as opposition leaders prepared an ultimately failed effort to bring aid into the country" (Para 1, Ellsworth). I believe, (and this is just an opinion), it is great news that the border is opening up. The reason I think this is because of what the article says. In the article, it shows " The closures caused economic problems for border towns that have increasingly come to rely on Colombian cities for basic goods and services" (Para 4, Ellsworth). This event means that money was not coming into Venezuela's border towns which depended on the Colombian cities over time for the aforementioned goods and services and for the money that they need to survive. And with the opening of the Colombian borders, there hopefully, will be more money going into the border towns, and hopefully, more people will leave Venezuela due to the country "...suffering a hyperinflationary economic collapse resulting from the unraveling of its socialist system" (Para 6, Ellsworth). The people who reside at the border has been so desperate for their basic needs and medical needs, that, once again, the article stated that "Many citizens have resorted to illegal crossings over backroads, at times paying tolls to criminals who controlled passage, in order to get groceries or basic medical treatment" (Para 5 Ellsworth). Even the opposition leader, Juan Guaidó has had a hard time. "Guaido, who has been recognized by dozens of countries as Venezuela’s legitimate head of state, attempted to bring food and hygiene supplies into the country in February. Troops and police pushed back the aid trucks, two of which went up in flames" (Ellsworth Para 7).
However, due to the small opening, there might be a little glimmer of hope to either get supplies and resources or to get out of there as soon as possible and to safety.

Below is the article I used and the citation if you would like to read it:

Here it is: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-colombia/venezuela-partially-opens-border-with-colombia-that-was-shut-in-february-idUSKCN1T901I?il=0

Citation: Ellsworth, Brian, and Deisy Buitrago. “Venezuela Partially Opens Border with Colombia That Was Shut in…” Edited by Leslie Adler, Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 8 June 2019, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-colombia/venezuela-partially-opens-border-with-colombia-that-was-shut-in-february-idUSKCN1T901I?il=0.Citation:

Thank you for reading!

Please comment about what you think about this whole situation and what you think of it.

June 8, 2019 0

He hears me

By V.J Wakefield

I know that you hear me pray.
From the black of night to the light of day.
You freed me from all my fears,
and now know you are here.
I know that you hear my weak voice
that was screaming from all the world’s noise.
Those who look to you for help will radiate with joy on their face.
Because we know that our Father’s in this place.
And you will save and have saved me from all my troubles.
In corners and the dark and places where it might spark and bubble

June 2, 2019 0

May Bible Time

By V.J Wakefield

It’s that time of the month again! It’s Bible time! Today’s verse is 1 Peter 5:7, which says:

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

What this verse is trying to explain to us that in times of worry and trouble we put our anxieties on The Lord because He cares about our well being and life in general. The reason why this verse is the end of the month Bible time is because this month for most is the last month of school and most sometimes forget about giving their anxieties to Him and focus too much on grades, not that there’s anything wrong with that, but most forget to give Him their worries during the study sessions and allow Him to help them to succeed. And sometimes I forget and focus too much on my stress and then I get tunnel vision and I focus too much on the stress which built up. I apologized and I knew that God forgave me for it. All in all, just put your anxieties on Him and you will succeed with Him by your side, helping you out and loving you.

Thank you for reading!

Please Comment about a time you let God take your worries.

Also please follow me

You can also email me on this address :

storiesofhopeforgod@gmail.com

June 1, 2019 0