Author: Ethan Lee

Last night I heard some bad news. This was news I had heard before a very similar situation. It was different this time though because I choose to see it differently. I was sad as last time, but I also felt something this time that I didn’t think about last time. This could have been me. It could have been we dang. It could have been my friend. He or she could have been the one, the one to get it the hit from the car. It could have been my Mom or Dad. It truly could have been anyone and anyone alone. 

This had me thinking. It at first was mixed feelings and then it was a feeling of sadness. Now I have a different feeling, yes I am still sad, but I also have a different feeling. What I feel is a knowledge of how to live are lives. We need to live our lives with greatness. We need to be happy with what we have. We should not take it for granted, because one day we may not be here anymore. This could be any of us. So the bottom line is, be nice to everyone. Live every day as if it’s your last. Never think that could or would never be you because it could be your last. Don’t think I can be mean to the ones I love because there is always a tomorrow. There is not always a tomorrow. So always make sure you to leave your relationships in good terms. We all know how we would feel if you were in a fight with someone and they had their time of death. 

Sometimes I think I am having a bad day. Who knows I probably am, but it’s not that bad. Or maybe it is, but there is most definitely someone who has it worse. Everytime I think of someone in my life who is suffering much more than I am. I think well, my life is not that bad, not as bad as her or she’s. So when your having a bad day take it in because it going to happen again. Just remember life could be much harder you are lucky to be who you are. Love yourself. Even though it may not seem like the time you stay strong. Let the lord take control. 

There is a song by my favorite band of all times “For King and Country”. It puts this in perspective for you in a song. It tells to let are fears and worries go. It all times of strung. To let God take control and for us to let go because he takes control. It says I give up control. Now that is harder than it seems, but we all need to work towards making this happen. Let’s left are fears up to God. 

As I stand on the front porch with winter all around me I can see the tail light on his bike blinking as he whizzes down the driveway.  I can’t help but feel a sense of loss yet wonder as I stand there. This year he will go to places I have never been and do things that most people only imagine. He will do hard things. He will do them without fear. He feels the presence of God. 

I watch the “blink blink” until it is no longer visible. The light flashes and then is gone. I equate this to my time here on earth. Just a flicker in comparison to this grand world. I pause, then turn and go into the house. How did He get here? So far behind me in years yet so ahead of me in spirit? 

Almost thirty five years ago I started my journey as a mother. Thinking I had so much to teach when in fact I had so much to learn.  Too busy to look forward or back- just letting the rhythm of days, weeks and years take over. What will it feel like when my days and my moments-are no longer ruled by the needs of a child?  When my first thoughts are not about another person’s day? Will I be on time? What will my own thoughts be like? Will I find something else that needs to occupy my brain? I can only glance to the future and appreciate that God knows.  I stand just inside my house and pray for what comes next. I pray for the peace that surpases all understanding. I pray for His will to be done; whatever that is. This is new to me. 

Go to Europe! Stay in God’s presence as He knows. 

It all started in a small town in South Carolina. This town was different in no way at all from any other. It has things like any other town has-people, cars, homes, teachers, schools, roads, highways, friends and family, and animals. It was located at the foot of some hills or what some may call mountains. The land was not flat but it was hilly, just not exactly mountainous. It was a town or a city as some people would call it. It had about 20,000 people living in it. These people were just like any other group of people, but they did have something special. They did not know that they had something special coming into their lives yet.

There was one man and he was about 5 feet 7 inches tall and 27 years old.  He lived in this town for 6 years now. His name was Josh and he moved here from Serbia. He was a loner and no one knew him. He was left all alone because no one liked the way he dressed or looked. This is why he didn’t have any true friends. He was the kind of man any woman would like to be married to; that’s if they talked to him and looked in his heart, but no one in this small town did. He was a real people’s person, just not these types of people, and they did not take time to really see him for who he was. 

What the people of this small town in South Carolina did not know about him was that he was very special in his country. Everyone loved him, not because he had money or other wealth, but just because he was a great person to be around. His overt friendliness made him famous as a locale of Serbia. This made him pretty well off as far as money goes, but he was not the type of man to live up to his tops. He didn’t believe in wasting money on things he didn’t need. He used the money to help other people who wouldn’t have the opportunity unless it was for him and his kindness. He was the richest man on earth, but he kept it a secret because he didn’t what people to be his friend based on wealth. He just wanted to be a nice person and have real friends.

Even though he loved making friends and loving people he was not doing that in his current state. Yet it was not his fault that the people of this town were afraid of him. What no one knew, not even him, was that one day this would all change. It would not just change his life, but the whole world. Josh would do something that would shock the entire world. It would be something great, but something unthinkable to any normal person.

First, we must go to a woman named Alex. She was short and fat. She was the kind of person looked down upon by just about everyone, especially the rich saints. She had been in jail 7 different times. Some of her charges included domestic abusive, drugs and yes more drugs; selling and using. She was a seller and user of just about every drug anyone could think of. She was abused as a child and just generally messed up. No one could see hope for her, not even the best people. Everyone who knew her, though she could and would never do anything other than doing and sell drugs. Yet somehow she was going to disprove everyone.

There was also Mr. Stierwalt. He was of average height with some gray hair. He was known as a kind and loving person. He had a good amount of money. He was the basic upper middle class of South Carolina. He had a good social status. He was not the type of guy that anyone would take for an evil person. Yet he seemed to have a problem. This problem started when his youngest son was hit by a car and died. If you talked to him you would say he was handling his son’s death like a pro. However, something in him changed making him go crazy and feeling hate for the strangest things. These things were not people, but more like minor concepts. For example: the concepts of love and forgiveness. 

One day this small town turned all the way around. That was the day Alex and Josh met. They just saw each other on the street. They both said to each other “I just had the smallest feeling I need to talk to you, I am not sure what about”. They knew it was something great. After some talking they knew what they had to do, this was straight from the feelings they got. They knew they had to change the world. They just were not sure how. 

One day everything flipped outside down when they realized what they had to do and how to do it. They realized that they had powers, but only when they were together the powers worked. Every time they got to know someone they would get those feelings, well it was more than feelings; they knew what people needed. They needed their help and love. They could automatically give these people the love they needed to help others. Some of the people needed more than just love they needed- their help and their truly loving gifts to help them through their problems. There was one problem though-Mr. Stierwalt. He knew their gifts somehow even though no one else did. He went after the people they helped and put them right back where they were in hell on earth. 

The helpers tried to use their powers on him many times, but it was useless. They even tried talking to him. All that ended with him trying to kill the good ones. There was only one thing left for them to do. Before they would have been glad to kill someone, but now their hearts felt different they felt mad about having to kill someone. Unfortunately with all the feelings, they did have they know what had to be done. The day they killed him the world would change forever. Love would be everywhere. There would be no more wars. Peace on earth would come true, unlike anything anyone could ever imagine. The Golden Rule would be used by every person. And it all happened because of some crazy force, or maybe God, that made two people who could never be kind and loving that indeed. This craziness changed the world. 

Hello, my name is Ethan Lee and I am a race-age 16 year old Category 3 cyclist. I have two years of real category and junior racing experience in the Southeast USA. My father is a cyclist and got me into cycling, out on the roads and through the encouragement of both my parents I joined a club team, Upstate Junior Cycling, which I thought was a group riding team and then realized that it also was a racing team. Not long after this I found myself racing at the Hincapie Spring Series. I remember going off the front and then immediately getting dropped because I didn’t know how to pace it properly. This is where the addiction started and I feel grateful and fortunate that the next step for me included my parents hiring a proper cycling coach.
My biggest goal was to race USAC Junior Nationals. I got the opportunity and my coach and I attended the event this past June. I remember thinking about how hard the racing was going to be and it was indeed hard, but I ended up doing way better than I thought and getting top-20 in the AG 15-16 time trial, road race, and finished the criterium. It was a very good experience and most importantly I learned not only the racing aspect but also the travel planning, course reconnaissance, and how to interact professionally with others at events, hotels, and on the course. After Nationals I got asked to guest ride for Unknown Racing in Chicago at Intelligentsia Cup.My next goal is to get on a junior development team for the 2020 season; my first year as a 17-18 Junior. What I will bring to your team is someone you can trust to work hard in races. My strongest skill is sprinting and I want to work hard to develop other skills that I may be well suited for, such as team tactics and descending. Most importantly, I am willing and ready to learn new skills, and am always respectful and make sure that I represent the team I am as well as its’ sponsors in a good manner.Here are some dreams of mine – to be on one of the best teams in the country, race for the national team and win a national title, become a professional cyclist and go to worlds. I have more reasonable goals but I thought I would tell you my dream goals.Thank you so much for reading this and being apart of the best sport on earth! I look forward to hearing from you and hope you will consider me for next year! 

Why should we be nice to everyone? The answer is very hard and simple at the same time. Because it’s the better way to be, but more importantly because God loves us. So if God loves us so it is only fair that we do the same. Loving the people don’t like can be hard in fact very very hard. We must do it anyway because forgiveness is the key to success. The reason forgive is simple yet so hard for us to do. If you think about it we owe it to our self to forgive the ones who harm us most. The reason for this is because we all sin and we want to be forgiven we mess up so we need to forgive these people who we hate. No sin is smaller or big then the next sin. That’s hard to put in your head, but when you do you will understand how to forget. Or at least understand why you should forgive.

God calls for a reason it may not seem like it some times, but we are all here for a reason. It may not seem like it right now, but you are going to great things. I promise you are here for a reason because God truly does not mess up. God knows us better than we know our selves. When you are called to do whatever he tells we need to do we will know its a calling. It may not feel like it right now. It’s ok because he would not have this planned for us if he didn’t know we could do it. 

Today a learned something and that is what we all need that something. That gift of something special something we love and something we are good at. A gift like that is something great that anything you could ask for it a gift for God. I also learned that having great people in your life is another thing that is needed. Well, it definitely makes life so much easier. Most of us take advantage of this to much. We need to stop and see the day enjoy what we have and be happy about it. See life one day at a time. I hope this hit you like it hit me.

Let’s just say you are having one of those days; where just everything is not going right. You’re not sure if you can make it through life. At the moment you would consider ending it. You feel like a complete failure. Well, Ethan, things are most definitely going to get worse; in fact, the whole world is going to kill itself. This so-called hell on earth will not seem to make sense because we as humans are all ready there. We have killed others, and are these. How could this get worse? Can we even see how it could be worse, it’s hard to see, but it most definitely will get a hell of a lot worse. There will be fire and more death you have ever seen. Are you not looking forward to it? Who isn’t? It will be the worse thing anyone has ever seen, and you are the reason for it. You are, your family, friends, foes, and just people, you know.
It’s you why did you do this why why? Why did you have to settle? Why did you hate it? Why did you kill? Why did you disobey? Why did you sin? Why did we not listen?
We have created hell ourselves -it is all of us-we did it. It’s all us, not anyone else. Why keep going when there is no hope? So let’s stop, let’s give up.
No, we do not need to stop. There is a straightforward reason why. Yet it is not so simple-God. Why would he love us? We have done everything against him. Not for him. Yet he still loves us the same no matter what. He knows us best; more than anyone ever will. He loved us so so very much that he had his own son die just for us. We do not deserve this, but he loves us so very much and knows us best.
So when you have one of those days remember this. You do have a reason to continue. To keep going thought the hardest times. God- this the only one who truly knows how we are and truly understands us. He also loves us when we truly do not deserve it.
I hope this made your day.