After living with just enough time to make it through each day, Will Salas (Timberlake) has his life radically changed in a day filled with both tragedy and fortune. He decides to fight the system and seek revenge on the oppressive upper class. What follows is a smart, if not highly improbable, story of love, revenge, stewardship, and charity. I thoroughly enjoyed this film and it was surprisingly clean for what I expected.

Watching this movie made me reconsider how I use my time. What would I do differently if I lived, literally, by the seconds tattooed to my arm? Would I be nicer to people? Would I have a Facebook? Speaking of which, have you ever noticed that very few movie characters have a Facebook? (The exception to this is Social Network… which is ABOUT Facebook). It really made me wonder what I would do with my life and who I would spend my time with.

I would definitely suggest watching this movie… that is… if you have the time.

-Kat Korpi

What would you do with your time if you lived in 24 hour increments, not knowing if you would be given another 24 hours when this one runs out?

This blog is sponsored by ORU eAcademy, a virtual, Christian academy for grades 3-12. For more information on our hassle free, continuous enrollment visit Our Website or call 800.678.5899

I CHOOSE LOVE

It’s quiet. It’s early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The world is still asleep. The day is coming.

In a few moments the day will arrive. It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun. The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day. The calm of solitude will be replaced by the pounding pace of the human race. The refuge of the early morning will be invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met.

For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day’s demands. It is now that I must make a choice. Because of Calvary, I’m free to choose. And so I choose.

I choose LOVE…

No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and love what God loves.

I choose JOY…

I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical… the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.

I choose PEACE…

I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.

I choose PATIENCE…

I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I’ll invite him to do so. Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.

I choose KINDNESS…

I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.

I choose GOODNESS…

I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I will accuse. I choose goodness.

I choose FAITHFULNESS…

Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My wife will not question my love. My children will never fear that their father will not come home.

I choose GENTLENESS…

Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it only be in praise. If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.

I choose SELF-CONTROL…

I am a spiritual being. After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ. I choose self-control.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek His grace. And then, when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest.

(Excerpt from “Let the Journey Begin” by Max Lucado)

What are your thoughts about this entry? What books have you read that  have challenge your daily life?

-Kat Korpi

This blog is sponsored by ORU eAcademy, a virtual, Christian academy for grades 3-12. For more information on our hassle free, continuous enrollment visit Our Website or call 800.678.5899

When looked up in the dictionary, the word extension is explained in a number of different ways.  I am choosing only one for today, however. The phone extension. The number that you dial if you are trying to reach a specific office in an institution. It is the identifier of that person or office. In my semester as an office aide, I transferred numerous phone calls to different extensions within the university and I soon began to recognize those people by their extensions.

Now, to give you some background as to what started all of this. I have started either making or breaking a habit every month. This month, the habit that I am choosing to break is how much I eat popcorn. That may seem silly to you, but I crossed a line somewhere around the time I started eating this crunchy snack for breakfast. Everyone who knows me knows that I love popcorn. Kettle corn, buttered, salted, peppered, parmesan… you name it and I probably like it. It got to the point that it was almost a tag line after my name: Kat Korpi, the girl who loves popcorn. So when I was deciding what habit I needed to break, I chose this because popcorn had become an extension of me. It was what people knew me by. Talk about a sad picture.

As I was trudging through Day One of my challenge, I had a revelation. What if, during this 30 day period, I took all the time I spent eating popcorn and spent that time with God? Why not make my extension look something like this: Kat Korpi, the girl who loves Jesus. Tim Elmore has a great series of books called the Habitudes. He came to speak at ORU leadership training this year and one main thing stuck with me. He has one habitude called Life Sentence. Now, before you go thinking black and white stripes, he’s not talking about that. Basically, he asks, “If you had one sentence to sum up your life after you die, what would you want it to be?” I certainly don’t want mine to be “She loved popcorn and ate it all the time.” I have so many better things that I could funnel my passion into.

What do you want your extension to be?

-Kat Korpi

This blog is sponsored by ORU eAcademy, a virtual, Christian academy for grades 3-12. For more information on our hassle free, continuous enrollment visit Our Website or call 800.678.5899

1. Clear out your closet. Sell your clothes that you will never wear again to a consignment store. Not only will you have space for those new ugly Christmas sweaters, but you will have a bit of spare change on your hands to get gifts for others.

2. Sell that old iPod. You know that iPod shuffle you have lying around that you never use anymore? Sell it. Someone will want it for their favorite child, and then you will have some more spare change. This could also apply to any other electronics you have. Some websites take solely electronics.

3. Cut down on your own spending. See that beautiful purse you want so badly? Don’t buy it. Put it on your Christmas wish list. Wait until after Christmas. Use that extra $100 on your mother. She’ll appreciate it.

4. Cash in your gift cards. Remember that $20 McDonald’s gift card you got from your great-aunt Susan for your birthday? Don’t let it rot. Many websites will buy your unwanted gift cards from you. Just do a search for sites like this (http://www.cardcash.com/).

5. Make a budget. There is no better way to spend just the right amount than to make a budget and stick with it. Would your best friend rather go to the movies than have a gift card? Go with that. Would your mom rather have a day of relaxation with her child? Do what she wishes. Divvy out the amount of money you wish to spend for each person, and leave a little to the side for the ‘just in case,’ for if that pair of shoes for your boyfriend were a little more than you expected. In any case, try to stay within $10 of your budget amount.

Remember that the greatest gift of all is God’s gift to us – Jesus Christ and eternal life! Share that this holiday season.

What is your favorite part of the Christmas season? Do you and your family have any special traditions or yummy recipes? Please share!

This blog is sponsored by ORU eAcademy, a virtual, Christian academy for grades 3-12. For more information on our continuous enrollment visit Our Website or call 800.678.5899

The Conspirator is produced by the American Film Company and directed by Robort Redford; who I didn’t know was still alive, but I guess he’s not THAT old, right? It has James McAvoy at its center as lawyer Frederick Aiken. McAvoy did a phenomenal job portraying this character. In fact, all of the acting in this film was wonderful.

The story is about the people who were part of the Lincoln assassination. John Wilkes Booth got the easy way out and was shot in a barn. The others, however, were not so fortunate. One of those “conspirators” was a woman by the name of Mary E. Surratt. She owned the boarding house that Booth and company made their plans in. The second strike against her was that her son was Booth’s right hand man, and the only known conspirator that escaped.

After she was arrested, she was brought before a military tribunal. You know, the law stating that everyone is entitled to a jury of their peers? There was no such thing at the time, and what came next was basically the biggest setup in the judicial system to that point. The judges all went into it either believing she was guilty or not caring if she was. There was one point in the movie where Aiken goes to the secretary of war and tries to convince him that Mary is innocent and shouldn’t be punished for her son’s crimes. The secretary replies that he doesn’t care who is guilty, but would be happy with the hanging of either one.

This movie is thick with themes in about the rights of the people, especially the idea of innocent until proven guilty. Aiken fights desperately for Mary Surratt, only to be thwarted at every turn. We also see him learn to not jump to conclusions.

There are a lot of great ideas in this story that have not been watered down by having to make it “politically correct.” That is why I loved this movie as much as I did. One of my biggest issues with historical films is their attempt to make the story politically correct. There were good and bad people on both sides of the Civil War, just as there are good and bad people everywhere. They portrayed the good and bad people from both sides very well, instead of making the “right” people look full of wisdom and compassionate perfection.

I’ll let you watch this movie and decide for yourself what you think. The story is one that I’d never heard before and, I believe, it will both anger you and inspire you.

What movies have inspired you or changed your way of thinking? What movie would you like to see reviewed next?

                                                                                                                                        -Katherine Korpi

 I didn’t trick-or-treat a lot until I was into my teen years (weird, yes.), which meant that I had to come up with something better than Tinkerbell or Winnie-the-Pooh, because, frankly, a Winnie-the-Pooh driving around on Halloween is just weird. So, here I am to share some of my low-budget costume ideas with you!

1. Little Ms. (Or Mr.) Smartie-Pants – This doesn’t even require much anything special. Just wear jeans and a t-shirt, and before you put on your jeans, use safety pins to attach packages of Smarties to your jeans. Although they do start falling off, you can be sure you’ll get some compliments on your cleverness, and you have a tasty treat even before you start candy hunting!

2. Captain Obvious – Put a blanket on your shoulders and a big “O” on your t-shirt. Then, point out every little detail that everyone has already noticed. Voila.

 3. Cereal Killer – Put on whatever you want, pin some of those small cereal boxes on your clothes, and stab spoons through them. For a bonus, carry around a bowl for your candy bag.

 4. Stay-at-Home-Parent – Put on some pajamas, make your hair a mess, maybe put a few strange stains on your clothes, and make a laundry basket out of whatever you have for your candy bag.

 Get creative and stay safe! Remember who you are, and be an ambassador for Christ in what you wear.

Do you have any creative costume ideas that you’d like to share? What are you planning on dressing up as? How do you celebrate?

This blog is sponsored by ORU eAcademy, a virtual, Christian academy for grades 3-12. For more information visit Our Website or call 800.678.5899

Recently, I had a slightly embarrassing and awkward moment with one of my best guy friends when people mistakenly thought we were dating. It is funny looking back on it, but it wasn’t necessarily the most hilarious thing to deal with. Let me give you a piece of advice, if you can avoid this situation, please do so. Fortunately, he and I are good enough friends that we worked it out and kept our friendship intact, although now we do give each other the awkward side hug and call one another bud. I thought I would share my situation with you so that you might avoid the same mistakes that I made.

This brings me to the age old question that everyone asks everyone else: Is it even possible for two people of the opposite sex to have a purely platonic relationship? I think it is. Read on to hear my reasoning why and my thoughts on how to do it.

I think that it is important to have good friends of both genders for several reasons. First of all, having a friendship with the opposite sex will give you insight into what personalities you are and aren’t compatible with when you do start to date. Secondly, it gives you more variety. If you just hang out with your girl (or guy) friends all the time, you may forget how to relate to anyone else. Now, I’m not talking about hanging out with one person exclusively. No; that is getting dangerously close to the dating realm.

Here are my suggestions on how to maintain a healthy and fun platonic relationship with the guys/girls in your life:

1.Have Fun! Do things with a group of your mutual friends, or even your friends and their friends – that way everyone gets to know new people. Find fun things to do with your group. Maybe you have dreams of becoming a competitive bowler and want to show off your skills! Don’t feel like this is limited to a certain activity. I have gone paintballing, to movies, to get ice cream, swing dancing and many other varied activities with my guy friends. Get as creative as you want.

2.Set Boundaries. The place where I get in trouble with my guy friends is by saying I love them… all the time. I tell most people that I love them; most of the time I mean it, but the other 15% is habit. What I really mean when I tell my guy friends that I love them is, “I deeply care about you and am grateful that we are friends.” However, people (including, sometimes, the person receiving the love) interprets this as, “I am on the path to a relationship with you.” My advice is to avoid saying I love you to your guy friends. Also, look ahead and see where other problems might arise and take the detour to avoid them if possible.

3. Diversify! Don’t feel like your world revolves around that person. You are friends, but the two of you are not dating and they are not Jesus. Branch out and meet people (You know those people that I said you should meet when your friend brings them bowling? Get to know them!) and don’t make your friendship “exclusive.”

4. Communicate! Communicate! Communicate! Basically, relationships are about communication and there is no way to get out of it. Most relationships fail because of lack of communication, so talking with those around you is a necessity. Sometimes it is fun communication, and sometimes it is communication that you would rather not have. Regardless of the type, communication is a necessity.

I do hope that you will have much success in your friendships; and I hope you avoid the mistakes I have made.

I’ll leave you with my favorite quote about friendship:

“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art… It has no survival value; rather is one of those things that give value to survival.”
- C. S. Lewis

Have you been in a similar predicament? Do you have any more tips on how to avoid potholes on the friendship highway? Share them below! The ORU eAcademy bloggers love comments!

This blog is sponsored by ORU eAcademy, a virtual, Christian academy for grades 3-12. For more information visit Our Website or call 800.678.5899

           As I sat in my bed staring at a blank document on my computer at eleven at night, I realized that in a month, I will be doing the exact same thing, only with a completely different goal in mind. I don’t know how many of you have heard of it, but the month of November is National Novel Writing Month, which as been cleverly shortened to NaNoWriMo.

Where am I going with this? I plan on telling you all about my experience last year with this wonderful month. I’m gonna try to get you to try it yourself. No, no, don’t close this window. You don’t have to be an awesome, spectacular writer to do it!

           During the month of November, starting November 1 at 12:00A.M., writers all across the world begin their month-long attempt to write a novel, or, by definition, 50,000 words. In order to do so, a participant must write an average of about 1,700 words a day. At the end of the 31 days, in a quick verification process, the participant can then know they have written a whole novel in a month, and get a free copy of their novel in book form!

            I can just hear some of the readers clicking the exit button. That’s fine, at least you read this far.

I am proud to say I completed the long, painful journey last year, and I plan on doing it again this year, hopefully much more successfully.

 If you’re wondering, “Gee, Emily, this sounds great, but what do I have to do to participate?” then I’m exuberant that you’re still with me here.

 Interested? Click here now and create an account. Then, start planning your novel! It doesn’t have to be something you want to publish. It could be a fanfiction, it could be letters to your long-lost runaway dog, or it could even be random sequences of letters of which only you know the meaning! This is the chance to be creative, and be able to say you wrote a novel in 31 days.

            Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

Even if you don’t think you’ll be able to finish it, ask God for strength (trust me, you’ll need it), and you can get through it!

Have you ever NaNoWriMo-ed? If so, tell us about your experience! What are a few of your favorite things to write about?

Still not convinced that NaNoWriMo is for you? Check out this video on the top 5 reasons to NaNoWriMo

This blog is sponsored by ORU eAcademy, a virtual, Christian academy for grades 3-12th. For more information visit Our Website or call 800.678.5899

In a nutshell, this film is about four Christian, college-age guys who get fed up with organized, philosophized, religion-ized Christianity and take a five week trip to Europe to strip themselves of their preconceived notions and find out what it truly means to follow Christ. They are definitely the typical 20-something guys, documenting not only their “God-moments” but also the gladiator costumes they bought. They also have a lot of footage of them jumping over stuff; which is cool.

Over the summer, I read a lot of books on this subject and have spent a lot of time talking with God about what my relationship with Him should look like. My life to date has been plagued by the religion of perfection. It got to the point where I was so obsessed with looking like the perfect Christian and showing everyone that I had it all together that I almost forgot that God was the reason for Christianity. In the film, they talk about having things together (or if we are even supposed to “have it together”) and what that looks like. There was one moment in the film when one of the guys lists of the things that he struggles with. He ends this list with, “How is that for a good Christian role model?”

We all struggle with things; we all have ways that we have failed. God knows, I have failed so many times that I can’t count them on the phalanges of my ten closest friends. Thankfully, a relationship with Jesus is not about showing the world that we have it all together. It’s about being real with God, with ourselves, and with those around us. There is no verse in the Bible (at least that I have found) that says “I, God, expect you to know everything, do everything, and be everything in perfection.” NO! He even goes to the other end of that spectrum.

2 Corinthians 12:9 says, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (NIV)

I’m not sure who said it, but this is one of my favorite quotes, “God never called us to live right. He called us to die right and let Him live through us.” In my mind, life is not about finding perfection. It’s about finding God and letting Him create in us the perfect image of His Son.

Anyway, this is a great movie. I recommend it. However, I do want to urge you to listen to the Holy Spirit’s voice within you, not just while watching this movie, but everywhere you go in your life. Trust me, it helps.

Something to ponder (and comment about!): What do you think a real relationship with God is supposed to look like? Have you seen “Beware of Christians?” Let me know your thoughts below!

-Kat Korpi

This blog is sponsored by ORU eAcademy, a virtual, Christian academy for grades 3-12th. For more information visit Our Website or call 800.678.5899

 The best solution: remember your assignments. Now you’re saying, “But Katie, how can I possibly keep all my responsibilities straight? Balancing sports, friends, family, school, clubs, homework, chores, and work isn’t exactly easy.” No, it isn’t, but life isn’t all rainbows and candy, you have to learn to manage your time effectively. Mastering this skill now will only serve to make your life much less stressful in the future. So, ready to manipulate time?

It’s true, you can’t go back in time, but you can get time you never knew you had if you can be diligent. In many schools planners are issued which help students keep track of all their activities and homework assignments. As much as I hated using them, they were key to my success during school. If you don’t like using full on calendars for schedule keeping, try using your phone to keep track of all your responsibilities. Organization is a major player in staying focused. Another idea would be to do your homework and studying in sections, don’t try and do it all in one sitting. Take a break every now and then to eat, stretch, listen to a song or two, and give your brain a rest.  When it comes to managing big projects or studying for tests, staying up all night, the night before the event is generally not a good idea. Rather, study a little every night for the subject, just skimming over your notes and the main points in the book for fifteen minutes every night will make a huge difference. You’ll be amazed at how much you remember. Spread out your project making time, do a piece a night, and you may even finish in advance.

As a former athlete, I totally understand wanting to give in to the temptation of not doing my work because I was tired and hungry after practice or a match. Quite frankly, after away games, I was practically dead with exhaustion, but I still got all my homework done. Doing it on the bus on the way to practice or meets and back again makes a huge difference. Resting after all that exercise is good as well so eat, and watch maybe one show on television and then hit the books. The sooner you get your work done, the sooner you can sleep. Ahh, glorious sleep!

Lastly, do as much homework as you can before the weekend starts. I know, you want to chill with your friends on Friday night, but the more you get done on Friday, the more fun time you have on Saturday and Sunday to have fun. And, as if fun weren’t enough, you don’t have the Sunday night heart attack around ten o’clock when you realize that you have a paper due.

 By exercising these good habits, you’ll find, you have more time to do what you need and what you love, while actually getting the sleep you so desperately want.

What are some strategies that you use to manage your time? Leave your secrets to success below!

God Bless All! Until we meet again,

~Katie J

This blog is sponsored by ORU eAcademy, a virtual, Christian academy for grades 3-12th. For more information visit Our Website or call 800.678.5899