Jesus' Baptism

     It was hot outside, and I was already sweating. All the chores were done, and I wanted to see if John the Baptist was still baptizing people. I had told mother I was getting more water. Which I was, but also I wanted to see him one more time. Hoping that he was still baptizing people, because I want to be baptized. I have walked this trail so many years. There was the same bush to my left, same hole to my right. There was a little line of grass in the middle of the trail. I guess where the chariots and wagons wheels never touch it. I walked on the grass trying to keep my balance. Something I practiced everyday. With the big heavy jug on my head, it was quite difficult. I looked to my left where I saw the pear tree, with it’s beautiful blooms, it looked like a comfortable place to rest. I kept walking, and that’s when I saw the river.
     There was a huge line of people, my eyes followed where the line began. It was at the starting of the lake. John the Baptist was still baptizing. I grinned and ran over to the end of the line. My heart sank. There were so many people, it would possibly take hours. But I stayed in line anyways. I must get baptized I thought, even if I get in a heap of trouble. It was the Jordan River, that’s the name of the river. I always thought the name was pretty cool. It looked even cooler now since I am so hot and thirsty. There was a huge meadow, hundreds of flowers and a few scattered trees. It was a clear sky today, the sun beat down, it’s heat feeling like fire on my skin.
     I had been in line for almost an hour, when this one man showed up. He looked like a gentle and peaceful man. He passed me and kept walking to the river. I frowned. How come he can skip all of us? What was so different about him? He walked straight in the water, I could tell that other people were wondering the same thing. That’s when John gasped. The man said, "Baptize me."
But John refused, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" why was John acting like this? It was just any other man, right? I stretched my neck but could not see, so I leaned to my left. Then my right. By the looks of the man, he did not look royal nor a priest of any kind.
Then the man answered, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John baptized him. When he came up the most amazing thing happened. A beautiful dove flew to his shoulder, and a huge voice from the sky said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." I gave a huge gasp. This is the Son of God. The one John was talking about! And all this time, I thought He was just some ordinary man.
     He got out of the water and walked away. But something wasn’t right. He was heading to the desert. Why? He kept walking, and while He was walking, John was preaching again. Talking about repenting and being baptized. I laid my jug down and walked into the water. It was my turn. When I was finished I grabbed my jug, filled it up and left for home. There was much to tell mother.

Leader Traits

What is leadership? Depending on the person it can mean many different things. For example, my father thinks leadership is, "The process of influencing people to accomplish a mission by providing, purpose, direction, and motivation." To my stepmother, leadership is, "Helping others to do the right thing, even if it is not popular." Also, my dictionary states that leadership is, "guidance; capacity to guide or command"
These answers are all great answers, and they all describe leadership. Yet, they are all completely different answers. To understand leadership you must first know what a leader is. The Webster’s dictionary describes a leader as this, "a guide, one in command a person with influence or importance" Now whether they are a good leader or a bad leader depends on their character. If they have good character, then they will most likely be a good leader. If they have bad character, then they will most likely be a bad leader. So what are some character traits, that a leader should have? There are many. The three that I would like to talk about are, responsibility, devotion, and honesty.
A leader must have responsibility. So, what is responsibility? The Webster dictionary states that responsible is, "accountable, able to work alone." If a leader has to always be told what to do, then how could he be a good leader? A responsible leader would take action right then. When he realizes that something needs to be fixed then the leader should fix it as soon as possible. If a leader does not do the jobs that he is supposed to do, then he is not being responsible. Which is why it is good for a leader to have responsibility.
"A great dancer is not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion." Martha Gram said that. A great leader must have a passion or devotion in whatever they are leading. If a leader is not excited or devoted about what he is leading then what is the use? When America was in the Revolutionary war our soldiers had to be devoted to their country. George Washington had to be devoted to his army. He was passionate about what he believed in. If George Washington was not devoted to his country then we might have never won the Revolutionary war. When someone is passionate about something, then they will give it their best effort. So when a leader is passionate about his group or organization then he will try to do everything he can to make his group better.
Proverbs 12:22 "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight." Honesty is another good thing that a leader should have. If a leader lies to you how can you ever trust your leader? Proverbs 6:16-19 "There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are and abomination to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devices wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers." The verse stated that the Lord hates lying. Proverbs 19:1 "Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool." A leader who lies to his people is a fool. It is better to be honest with your people than to lie and try to hide the truth.
Depending on someone’s opinion, leadership can be many things. When it comes to leading people you can have good leaders, and you can have bad leaders. Good leaders usually have good character traits like responsibility, devotion, and honesty. There are many other character traits that a good leader should have. But I think that a good leader should definitely have these character traits. A leader should have responsibility. What is the use of a leader if he does not do what he is supposed to, independently? Also a good leader should be devoted to his group. If he is not devoted or passionate about what he does, then he would probably not give his best effort. Then last but not least, a good leader should be honest. If your leader is not honest with you, then how can you trust him? How do you know if he is keeping secrets from you? Being a leader is a huge responsibility, and will take much work. To be a leader you must be ready to make sacrifices, and much more. When you are responsible, honest, and devoted then you can be a good leader.

Gotcha!

Gotcha!By Jacqueline Anne Malone

It was like any normal day for Susanna. She was making her rounds as usual. Circle the interstate, go up that old boring road then the interstate again. She wore the same indigo blue uniform. With the same pony tale just poking out of her same old hat. Everyday was the same. There was almost never anything exciting. So she pulled someone over for a bad tale light, or going just a few miles of the speed limit. Nothing much, just the same. Susanna sighed, wondering if there was ever going to anything exciting. That’s why she became a police officer in the first place. She thought it was exciting. She must have thought wrong. But just as that thought hit her mind, her radio beeped.
She snatched the speaker from it’s holder and said "Copy again,"
The officer in the other line spoke again this time more clear, "Stolen Honda, color blue, Civic, license plate ‘ADG-235', year 2010. Man about the age between 30 to 40, white, has brown hair."
Susanna’s heart raced, this is the action she was wanting! She was so excited that she almost forgot to respond back, "Roger that, any position?"
The man was silent for a while, then he said, "The last time we saw him he was on the interstate heading west."
Susanna could have screamed for joy. She was in that same interstate heading west. "Roger that, my position is on interstate 88 heading west just passed exit 24, am I close to him?"
"Roger that you are! We just had a sighting, and he just passed 24. Find him, I’m calling for backup."
"Okay, I see him, he is going 75 in a 70 mile zone, I will follow him."
"Back up is on the way." Susanna was so excited, she had not had this much excitement in months. She kept talking to the other officer, giving him the location . Till finally back up had arrived. By the time the man noticed that he was surround, it was to late. When he pulled over, Susanna got out of her car, causally walked over and smiled, then she just couldn’t resist the urge so she said in an annoying voice, "Gotcha!"

A story I had to write for school

                   The Greatest Gift of All
                            By Jacqueline Anne Malone
                                                                           8-17-11
All my life I have been poor. From the day I left the hospital, till now, and probably till I move out and find a job. Every Christmas would come, and I would get very little. A book some coins, and if I am lucky a few pieces of candy. When I started school the kids made fun of my clothes. They were either too short, too dirty, or ragged. My notebooks were used, so were my pencils. I remember looking at the girls dresses, and ribbons, thinking of how much I wanted to be like them. But my wish never came true.
Everyday I would come home just the same, the same small dinner, same family time, and then the same bed I shared with my sisters. Don’t get me wrong I loved my family. Even though my mother and father were exhausted at night, we still had our family devotions and prayer. My mother always had a smile on her face, that’s what I love most about her. My father always encouraged me to go for my dreams. We were a happy family, always looked on the bright side. Well, most of the time. When 5^th grade came around I was as nervous as ever. My mother had been saving money for a long time and we could finally buy some new school clothes. Well, almost new.
I had walked into class that day so proud of myself. I thought I look beautiful. We had taken an old dress that still had some pretty colors in it, and made ribbons. It was such a pretty pink, and it matched me so perfectly. I walked into class that day, proud and happy. But one girl looked at me and everything changed. She turned my way and laughed. She said that she had donated the dress I was wearing. It was the same dress she donated. Of all the dresses! I was so embarrassed. The girls didn’t stop picking on me until the end of the week.
I would come home and cry myself to sleep. One day, as I came inside my house something was different. It was only mother. Usually my sisters were home, and father shortly after them. But it was only mother. When mother finally noticed me, she told me to sit down. I cautiously sat down wondering what was gong on. She cleared her throat and began, "Sweetie how have you been?" I thought this was a silly question, so I answered,
"Good, I have been good...why?" My mother smiled and said,
"Really sweetie, nothing has been bothering you?"
Then I realized what she meant by "good". "Oh," I said, "well, I have been okay."
"Okay? Why just okay?" I felt the heat rise in my cheeks, and my palms start to sweat. I couldn’t tell mother what had happened at school! She would be so embarrassed. I would hate to do that to my mother. But she kept persisting, so I finally told her all about what happened at school. The next thing I new I was in her arms crying. I was just so sad that they picked on me. I thought I looked so beautiful! With the ruffles in the skirt, and the lace! Oh, the lace gave it a perfect touch. But they picked on me. Called me names! My mother just held me and rocked me for a while, until I had calmed down. Then she spoke.
"Hannah, what those girls did to you was very mean. They should have never done that to you. Now I know we don’t have a lot, and a lot of those girls at school do. But you must remember to count your blessings. Those girls were very selfish weren’t they." I tried to protest, but then I thought. You know what? They were. I remember how they always fought over candy if someone ever brought any. I remember how they used to complain about not having the newest doll, or dress.
"Even though it may not seem like it, you have been blessed very much, sweetheart." My mother said
"How?" I cried. "How have I been blessed more than them?" Have you seen their dress? Have you seen their houses, cars, and dolls?" My mother smiled,
"Because, they care only about objects. They don’t care about true joy, or true blessings. Look around you child, yes we are poor but we are happy. We always spend time together, and God has blessed us with three beautiful daughters. God has blessed you with so much, you just have to realize it."
From that day I looked at the world differently. I didn’t compare my dresses to the other girls. I didn’t complain about my Christmas’s or birthday presents. Instead I counted my blessings. I thanked God every day for what He has blessed me with. Even if it is not blessings I can touch, I am thankful to have them. I am thankful for blessings like joy, peace, and love. I am thankful for the breath I breathe. Small yet wonderful things like that. I am so thankful now, that the rude remarks at school, or the stares I get don’t bother me anymore. Instead I notice how God has blessed me that very moment, then I smile and enjoy the day God has blessed me with.