Mary Wineberg and Jessica Beard

I recently read an article about two female runners; Jessica Beard and Mary Wineberg. Both of these runners run the 400, and Mary Wineberg was part of the 4x400 relay team that won the gold medal in the 2008 Olympics. The article was written in April 2012, and talks about how these two runners are competing along with others for a spot to race in the 2012 summer Olympics. They have to compete at different time trials to see who can run the fastest 400 meters, until they have the top four runners to form the relay team.

Last summer, I had the chance with my school cross-country and track team to meet Mary Wineberg. She visited our school to talk to us, and motivate us to work hard and run fast. With her opportunity to race at the Olympics, she encouraged us to try our best, and to never give up. Even when she had a baby in 2009 after racing in 2008, she still tried to make it to the 2012 Olympics, and didn't give up. A quote from the article I read is, "' People say 'Mary may be done,' but I'm not done yet,' [Mary] said in a phone interview. 'I trained for so long--eight years--to make my first Olympics and to experience that glory again, to be able to represent the U.S. and hear the National Anthem played, that drove me.'" With her encouraging and motivating attitude, she helps others around her to go after their dreams, keep working hard, and never give up.

See article here.

The Cross at the Center of the Gospel

One important line from the past chapter I have read in What is the Gospel? is, "Paul made sure the cross was the central point of the gospel he preached, and we should do the same." This quote is really important to the past section I have read, because it summarizes what it is most about. The line comes at the end, and is like a summary statement for what had been talked about for pages before that. Throughout the book, different pieces and parts of the Gospel are brought together to finally bring a fuller understanding of what the Gospel really is by the time you get to the end of the book. The point that the cross is the center of the Gospel is important because without Jesus dying on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins, and then rising again, we would be without hope to be saved from our sins.

The book says, "Indeed I believe one of the greatest dangers [Christians face] today is the temptation to rethink and rearticulate the gospel in a way that makes its center something other than the death of Jesus on the cross in the place of sinners." Sometimes Christians might try to make it sound like you can save yourself by doing good deeds, or some people might say that you don't need God at all. But really, Jesus' death on the cross, and Him rising again is what made it possible for us to ask for forgiveness from God, and to be saved only by His grace, through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). By keeping the cross at the center of the Gospel, we stay focused on the true message, and not getting sidetracked by what things we think we can do to be saved ("not by works..."). Overall, I really like this book, and I would recommend it to anybody who wants to read a really good and informational book!

"Krista: Living the New Adoption Law"

"Krista: Living the New Adoption Law"
In the article "Krista: Living the New Adoption Law" by Krista Ramsey, we are introduced to someone named Hope Coffee. Hope was adopted when she was young, and up until now she hasn't been able to access any data about her birth mother, but with the new bill passed, she will be able to find this information and possibly contact her birth mother by March 2015. One quote from this article is, "When [Coffee] began asking more questions as a teenager, her adoptive father told her the few facts he'd been told-her mother was 19 or 20, a college student, of Caucasian and Native American descent, and her father was African-American. It was enough. For a while."

This quote from the article shows that Coffee started to wonder what her birth mom was like, and what type of background that she came from. Coffee was happy with what she knew for a while, but from this quote, the sentence structure and wording of the end gives the reader the sense that she has become curious again, and wants to know more about her birth mother. The sentence length of the ending also gives the reader the idea that Coffee isn't done with the search, and plans to do more to find her mother. The diction of this line is pretty casual, making it easier for the reader to understand on a basic level. Overall, the syntax and writing styles of this quote demonstrate good use of sentence structure and quality writing.

One quote from "For better vision, kids need time outdoors" by Krista Ramsey is, "The kid who used to walk home from school looking at houses and trees now rides home staring at a screen not much bigger than his hand. The teenager who used to research at the library or hang out with friends outdoors now does her studying and socializing in front of a computer in her bedroom." One quote from "Super Bowl QBs score points for great style" by Krista Ramsey is, "It's a hopeful sign in a nation that now accepts flip-flops and jeans as appropriate wear for weddings, graduations, awards banquets and funerals. At work, 'Casual Fridays' have morphed into sundresses and golf shirts every day." These quotes also show Ramsey's writing style continues to have more casual diction, and varying sentence lengths and structures. One thing that stays consistent throughout her writings is to relate the article to the reader, and include lots of great detail to make the story understandable.

If I could ask Krista Ramsey some questions, I would ask how do you come up with different types of writing styles to make the writing interesting and keep the reader's attention, where do you come up with ideas for writing these articles, and how do you develop a tone while writing an article about a certain topic, event, or person.

What is the Gospel?

I have recently started reading What is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert, as preparation for a missions trip I will be going on this summer. This book seems really thought out and informational so far. To better understand the book, I decided to do some research about the author. Greg Gilbert is a pastor of a church in Kentucky, and the author of the book What is the Gospel?. He also has a new book coming out soon that he helped with, called What is the Mission of the Church?. He wrote the book What is the Gospel? to make the Gospel of Jesus Christ more clear to readers. This book can be used in a helpful way to see why Jesus came to die on the cross, and to better understand that we are all sinners, and need forgiveness from God to be saved.

The book first starts off with common misunderstandings of what the Gospel is. I like that Greg Gilbert includes this in the book, to show where different mistakes are often made when learning about the Gospel. He then goes on to explain throughout the rest of the book what the true Gospel is, and uses many quotes from the Bible as proof. I also like how he includes a lot of evidence, to give his writing more back-up and support. I have really enjoyed reading this book, and look forward to finish reading it!

Review on Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is about a firefighter named Guy Montag, who lives in a futuristic society, where people burn books instead of reading them. Throughout the book I have enjoyed reading about the different things Montag must go through to gain more knowledge, and how it affects him. One of the themes explained in this novel is that knowledge is power. By knowing things in life, you can achieve the goals you set, and learn things that other people can't understand. Knowledge is feared in this futuristic society, because people are taught and told not to question government, or people with more 'power'. Nobody ever questions why the firefighters burn books until Clarisse motivates Montag to question Captain Beatty, the firefighter chief. One quote from this book is, "Once, long ago, Clarisse had walked here, where [Montag] was walking now" (138). This quote shows that Montag is taking the same path to question, and to ask others why something is some way, just like he first saw with Clarisse, at the beginning of the book.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. It was very well written with a lot of great imagery and detail. It also used many examples of satire all throughout the story to make and emphasize the theme. The word choice and diction was also good, with some elevated diction, but not too hard to understand as a reader. If I had to rate this book, I would give it a four out of five stars. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a good and interesting read, with lots of great detail. Overall, it was a great book and I liked reading it.

Here is a link to a review on Fahrenheit 451 from goodreads.com. From here it also receives about a 4 out of 5 stars.
Review