Did You Know? - 10 Interesting Christmas Facts

                                                    Certain Certitude #14

     With every one's favorite holiday approaching, I thought I would share some facts about it! Here are 10 that will surprise you:

*NOTE* I stole this cute fact filled graphic from the website www.todayifoundout.com Check the website out!

The Life of Nathaniel Hawthorne

                                                    Wondering Weekend #10

     Sorry it's a day late, but here is what I've been wondering about this weekend!

     There have been many a great men and women in history worth remembering. Some heros who should have been honored with a holiday have long been forgotten. Some have been over praised and given a false image. But there is one man who we mustn't forget. His writings have captured the true feelings of man greater than any other. Who is this writer? Let us look at the life of Nathaniel Hawthorne. 

This great author was born on July 4th, 1804, in Salem Massachusetts. (His birthplace has been preserved and is open to the public today.) He is of English / Puritan descent. Hawthorne’s first ancestor who came to America was William Hathorne, his great-great-great-grandfather. William became an important citizen of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and held many political positions including magistrate and judge. (He became infamous for his harsh sentencing.) His son, and Nathaniel’s great-great-grandfather, John Hathorne, was one of the judges who oversaw the Salem Witch Trials. (It is thought that when Nathaniel learned of this, that he added the “w” to his surname in his early twenties in an effort to disassociate himself from his notorious forebears.) Nathaniel Hathorne, Sr., the author’s father, was a sea captain who died in 1808 of yellow fever in Suriname. After his death, 4 year old Nathaniel, his mother, and two sisters moved in with maternal relatives, the Mannings, in Salem. They lived there for 10 years. During this time, on November 10, 1813, 9 year old Hawthorne was hit on the leg while playing “bat and ball.” He became lame and bedridden for a year, though several physicians could find nothing wrong with him.

In the summer of 1816, the family lived as boarders with farmers before moving to a home specifically built for them by Hawthorne’s uncles Robert and Richard Manning in Raymond, Maine, near Sebago Lake. Hawthorne loved living in Maine. He wrote later in his life: “Those were delightful days, for that part of the country was wild then, with only scattered clearings, and nine tenths of it primeval woods.” Despite his love of Maine he was sent back to Salem in 1819 for school and soon complained of homesickness and being too far from his mother and sisters. To entertain himself he made his own newspaper, The Spectator, in August and September 1820. It was written by hand and included essays, poems, and news utilizing the young author’s developing adolescent humor. He gave seven issues to his family. 

Despite protests, Hawthorne’s uncle Robert insisted that he attend college. With the financial support of his uncle, he was sent to Bowdoin College in 1821. This college was chosen for him partly because he had family connections in the area and also because of its relatively inexpensive tuition rate. While on his way to and at college the author-to-be met many soon-to-be important people such as Franklin Pierce, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Jonathan Cilley, and Horatio Bridge. After his time at college he wrote, “I was educated (as the phrase is) at Bowdoin College. I was an idle student, negligent of college rules and the Procrustean details of academic life, rather choosing to nurse my own fancies than to dig Greek roots and be numbered among the learned Thebans.” 

As for his early career, he served as an editor in 1836 of the American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge. He boarded with the poet Thomas Green Fessenden on Hancock Street in Beacon Hill, Boston at this time. He was offered a job as weighter and gauger at the Boston Custom House. He accepted at a salary of $1,500 a year on January 17, 1839. He rented a room during his time there from George Hillman Stillard, business partner of Charles Summer. While living there, he wrote in comparative obscurity in what he called the “owl’s nest.” Later on in life, he wrote this looking back: “I have not lived, but only dreamed about living.” He wrote some short stories, including “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Minister’s Black Veil.” Some of his stories were collected into one volume titled Twice-Told Tales.

Interestingly, while at college Hawthorne bet his friend Jonathan Cilley a bottle of Madeira wine that Cilley would get married before he did. By 1836, he won this bet. But not long after his friend got married did Nathaniel meet transcendentalist Sophia Peabody. In pursuit of a home for himself and Sophia, he joined the transcendentalist Utopian community at Brook Farm in 1841. It is important to note that he did not join because he agreed with the experiment, but that he was just seeking a way to gain money to marry Sophia. He had to pay a $1,000 deposit and was put in charge of shoveling the hill of manure referred to as “the Gold Mine.” Although he left later that year, he was inspired by his adventure at Brook Farm for his novel The Blithedale Romance. He married Sophia on July 9, 1842. They were very happy together, and Sophia was constantly amazed at what he could write. She very much enjoy reading his works. They had three children together - Una, Julian, and Rose.

Throughout his life, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote many, many books, stories, and articles. The book that most know him for is The Scarlet Letter. Even during his life, this book was immensely popular. It sold 2,500 volumes within ten days and earned Hawthorne $1,500 over 14 years. Even in London was this book talked about. Some of his other most noted works are The House of the Seven Gables and Tanglewood.

Before his death, he was able to meet Abraham Lincoln. He was of failing health at the age of 60, and while on a tour of the White Mountains, he died in his sleep on May 19, 1864. Hawthorne is buried in what is known as “Author’s Ridge” in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord Massachusetts. Sadly, he was prevented from completing a few more romances. His family was devastated by his death, but lived on. 

In the end, Nathaniel Hawthorne led an honest life. Although he was in a lot of ways just like everyone else, he was extremely talented when he had a pen in his hand. He could capture the true desires of the hearts of men in words like no other. He should be remembered as a great husband, father, and writer. 

A Thanksgiving Treat

     Well! A lot has changed since I made this blog last December! I thought I would just take some time today to tell you who I am so you can understand what kind of mindset these posts are coming from.
     I'll start with the basics: At the moment for pets I have 2 dogs (Bentley and Esther), 4 cats (Cleo Patra, Siyah Maymun, Autumn, and Romeo - Figaro), 1 bunny (Zaphod Beeblebrox), and 12 chickens. I live with just my parents, am home schooled, and in 10th grade. I have some siblings who are all older and don't live at home. I have been playing the violin for 5 and 1/2 years and just started the cello 2 days ago! I am very passionate about learning, saving babies from abortion, and preparing for my future!

Me and three of my friends: Sarah, Elsie, and Katie

     As for my faith: I am Christian! Doctrinally, I am a 5-Point Calvinist and Credo, Reformed Baptist. I believe in Family Integration and stand behind The Baptist Confession of Faith 1689. I believe God should be first in every one's lives and that we must continually be working on our faith. I believe that abortion is murder, homosexuality is an abomination, and that conventional dating is wrong. I DO NOT believe these things because I've been told to, brain washed into it, or forced to believe it. I came to these decisions all by myself. (Well, with God's leading of course! ;-)
     My top five favorite things in this world are learning, true friends, music, animals, and family. I enjoy swimming, skiing, and snowboarding. I like to watch and root for the Patriots. Baseball, soccer, hockey, etc. all bore me to death on tv, but are fun to play. I love living in New England so much that I might have to run away if I ever had to move again. ;-) I enjoy deep thoughts, unexplainable happiness, and happy tears. (Which I have only experienced once in my entire life!)
     Lastly, I would like to end with what I'm thankful for on today of all days! I praise the Lord that he's placed me in MY family, given me MY friends, and MY talents. I would never trade it with anyone else's. I am thankful for being home schooled and living life the way I do. I praise the Lord for being born on June 12th, 1998 by my mother and no one else. Thank you, God!

Did You Know? - Fun Word Facts

                                                     Certain Certitude #13

This post will be appreciated by all my wordy friends I'm sure! Here are 25 facts about words:

1. "Stewardesses" and "reverberated" are the longest words that can be typed using only the left hand.
2. "Lollipop" is the longest word that can be typed using only the right hand.
3. "Skepticisms" is the longest word that can be typed using alternate hands.
4. "Rhythm" and "syzygy" are the longest words without vowels.
5. The letters H, I, O, and X are the only letters that look the same if you flip them upside down or view them from behind.
6. "Queueing" is the only word with five consecutive vowels.
7. The only city in the United States whose name is spelled using only vowels is Aiea, Hawaii.
8. The longest one-syllable words are "screeched" and "strengths".
9. The word with the most consonants in a row is "latchstring".
10. "W" is the only letter in the alphabet that does not have one syllable. It has three!
11. "Therein" contains ten words without rearranging any of the letters: there, in, the, he, her, here, ere, therein, herein, rein.
12. A, H, I, M, O, T, U, V, W, X, and Y are the symmetric capital letters.
13. The symmetric lowercase letters are i, l, o, t, u, v, w, x.
14. The letter combination "ough" can be pronounced in nine different ways, which can be heard in this sentence: A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed.
15. "Deeded" is the only word that is made using only two different letters, each used three times.
16. There aren't any words that rhyme with orange, purple, silver, or month.
17. Maine is the only state with one syllable.
18. The only words with three consecutive double letters are "bookkeeping" and "bookkeeper".
19. "Underground" is the only word that begins and ends with "und".
20. "Polish" changes from a noun or a verb to a nationality when it is capitalized.
21. If you spell out every number from 0 to 999, you will find every vowel except for "a". You have to count to one thousand to find an "a"!
22. "Q" is the only letter that is not used in the name of any of the United States.
23. The only words with "uu" are "vacuum", "muumuu", "residuum", and "continuum".
24. The highest scoring word in the game Scrabble is "quartzy".
25. "Subcontinental" is the only word that uses each vowel only once and in reverse alphabetical order.

*THERE WILL BE A POST VERY SOON FROM MY FRIEND ANNA! STAY POSTED!*

Things Change With Time

                                                         Wondering Weekday #1

Well, after missing two Wondering Weekends, I feel like I need to do something special to make it up to my viewers! What have I decided? I'm going to do a Wondering Weekday, a Certain Certitude, and a post on Thanksgiving updating everyone on my life as a holiday treat! Here is your first Wondering Weekday:

     Looking back in history, it is easy to see huge changes in the different generations. The most obvious being dress, speech, and customs. One that does not usually change as much as the rest is religion. At least that’s how it used to be. One huge example of religious change in the generations is the Puritanical beliefs of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and that of religion on the frontier during the Second Great Awakening. Let us examine:

In the beginnings of America, we had simplistic towns. One example of such a town is the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which is called Boston today. It was a much different place back then. There were farms, churches, small schools, and no buildings like the skyscrapers of today. It was started after Plymouth Plantation and most definitely flourished more. The Massachusetts Bay Colony is a far cry from the Boston we know today. What was the one major difference? The religion of the simplistic community was much purer.

This colony was started, like many townships of the time, for religious purposes. The Puritans sought to create a pure society in which they had no opposition. They wanted to fulfill the great commission through their children while staying as true to the scriptures as possible. Sadly, we can easily see how they became quite legalistic. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book The Scarlet Letter we can see how judgmental the Puritans were. A girl who committed adultery was made to be hated and an outcast. No one cared for her but her daughter and the one who sinned with her. Although this is not a true story, it is written with truth as to how the Puritans would have treated a girl like poor Hester: with hate. 

The Puritans had pure intentions when they started their town, but they veered far from the true path, like many do. 

Many, many years later things were very different. As America expanded West, the number of people attending church fell. People were more interested in gaining wealth on earth than in heaven. Man was seen as the absolute authority and reason governed all. The religion of the Pilgrims and Puritans was replaced with civil religion. Formality choked out honesty. A Second Great Awakening is just what the people needed. God always provides, right?

Yes, He does. Revivals sprouted out of nowhere. Camps dedicated to praising the Lord and fellow-shipping with other believers appeared. Great speakers were raised up, and doctrines changed. The people fell away from the truths of Calvinistic thought and began to see God in a different light. He was becoming the all loving, easy going God that is preached in our churches today. Charismatics arose with their strange ways of worship and beliefs. Civil religion went away for a time. The country was happy. 

What is the difference between these two examples? Who was better? Did one completely trump the other? In my opinion, both ended flawed and unfixable. The Puritans began with holy intentions and stayed true to the Bible in many ways. They failed to examine their children’s true state of salvation. Legalism replaced honesty and gave way to half-hearted believers. They cared about being “right” all the time more the what truly matters. 

Do I think the people who took place in the Second Great Awakening were any better off? Not in the slightest! In fact, I would argue that the “reformers” only steered Americans farther from the truth. Yes, Christianity was revived. Yes, there was a general reform in the country. The bad part is the kind of Christianity that was started. The false truth of the common church today can be traced back to this event in history. Man went from trusting in his reason to trusting a “softy” God. 

In the end, I believe God is sovereign. It does not matter what happens in history as long as God fulfills His perfect and holy will. The elect will be saved no matter what. Those who are not in the Book of Life now will never enter it. We can clearly see God’s hand throughout history working in both the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the Second Great Awakening. All things are for the good of the elect. History’s “mistakes” are but little steps in furthering the kingdom of Christ. 

We can clearly see the positives, faults, differences, and similarities between these two aspects of Christianity. All things have and will change over time besides God’s attributes. 

Did You Know? - 10 Facts About Australia

                                                    Certain Certitude #12

     Well, I'm really mad that I missed another Wondering Weekend. I seriously did not remember until Sunday night. :-( I hope these awesome facts about Australia make it up to you!

1. 20 million people. 150 million sheep. Fact.

2. Chilling out with a coffee is an easy must-do in Perth – after all it has more cafés per capita than any other city in the world!

3. The most famous Australian inventions include the ultrasound, Vegemite, the tank, football,  the refrigerator AND the pre-paid postage.

4. It may be sunnier Down Under than in the UK but the Australian Alps get more snow than Switzerland!

5. Bob Hawke set a world record in 1954 for downing 2.5 pints of beer in 11 seconds. 29 years later he became the Prime Minister of Australia.

6. Australians love other nationalities - almost a quarter of their residents were born abroad!

7. Feeling stressed out? Play a didgeridoo! They apparently relieve stress, reduce snoring and improve circulation. It is sometimes even played as background music in doctors’ surgeries.

8. Did you know that the Great Barrier Reef has a mailbox? If you’re willing to take a ferry out there, you can send a postcard to your family and get the exclusive stamp!

9. Australia was originally a British penal colony, a settlement to exile prisoners from the rest of the population. In fact, Australia Day - January 26 - is the anniversary of ships arriving in Sydney carrying lots of British convicts!

10. Because Melbourne and Sydney could not agree on which city should be the capital of Australia, it was decided that neither of them should be, and so a new capital called Canberra would be built in the middle. Decided over a beer. Probably

Did You Know? - Facts of Fetal Development

                                                       Certain Certitude #11

     I am pro life! You may not be because you think women should not have to deal with the aftermath of premarital sex or adultery, but those and all reasons for abortion go against the Bible. You don't that thing in there is alive? Think again! Here is a timeline of fetal development.

Yes, a fetus does suck its thumb!

• Day 1 - conception takes place.
• 7 days - tiny human implants in mother’s uterus.
• 10 days - mother’s menses stop.
• 18 days - heart begins to beat.
• 21 days - pumps own blood through separate closed circulatory system with own blood type.
• 28 days - eye, ear and respiratory system begin to form.
• 42 days - brain waves recorded, skeleton complete, reflexes present.
• 7 weeks - photo of thumbsucking.
• 8 weeks - all body systems present.
• 9 weeks - squints, swallows, moves tongue, makes fist.
• 11 weeks - spontaneous breathing movements, has fingernails, all body systems working.
• 12 weeks - weighs one ounce.
• 16 weeks - genital organs clearly differentiated, grasps with hands, swims, kicks, turns, somersaults, (still not felt by the mother.)
• 18 weeks - vocal cords work – can cry.
• 20 weeks - has hair on head, weighs one pound, 12 inches long.
• 23 weeks - 15% chance of viability outside of womb if birth premature.*
• 24 weeks - 56% of babies survive premature birth.*
• 25 weeks - 79% of babies survive premature birth.*

(*Source: M. Allen et. al., "The Limits of Viability." New England Journal
of Medicine. 11/25/93: Vol. 329, No. 22, p. 1597.)

Gavotte by F. J. Gossec

                                             Musical Monday of the Month #3

     This song, though having nothing to do with rabbits, is dedicated to my recently deceased bunny, Marigold. I could not get the video to directly upload to blogger for some strange reason (I will try again later), but here is the link:

                    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP4Al3ykU9U&feature=plcp

*Gasp* Look at That!

                                                            Wondering Weekend #9


     When someone looks up, you usually try and follow their line of sight to see what they see. The phrase, "Don't look!" has become something of an oxymoron. A pointed finger and the stares of many causes an alertness of attention. As humans, we tend to be curious about each other. We want to know why someone is interested in that thing that causes them to point or stare. Naturally.
     What if Christians all stared at the sky at the same time? What if they pointed when someone needs help? What if they all told each other not to look at darkness? Would the outsiders understand? Would their curiosity be aroused? Would anyone notice?
     My friend recently pinned a picture on that addicting website known as pinterest. It grabbed me. It was a sign. Not figuratively but a simple piece of paper with 1 sentence: "For one minute please, stand here in silence and look at the sky, and contemplate how awesome life is." I instantly had the desire to go post a bunch of signs all over town with this saying. Well, my friend stayed over last night, and we did. In a way.
     I printed 10 of these signs. I showed them to my mother and she asked me why I wanted to put such godless signs all over the place. She came up with the finishing touch: cross out the word "life" in red marker and write God. It was genius! It was thought provoking. It was something to inspire.
     We walked around town with a staple gun and a stack of papers. Every pole or tree that was near a sidewalk got one. We giggled as we felt like vandals. It felt so wrong, yet so right.
     What if every Christian did this in their town? We could start something amazing! We could cause people to wonder. We could point and stare and hope others would catch on. Yet, it would all be worthless if we don't love, forgive, and live selflessly. We cannot be hypocrites and expect people to want to know God. I know I sure wouldn't want to meet a leader of "fakies." We can tell people about God, Jesus, and Christianity all we want, but the biggest testimony is given through the way we live.
     I challenge you to hang signs, share the gospel, AND live out the Bible. Don't be fake. Be real. Really a Christian.