Bears and Bear Safety

Many people think of bears as cute, cuddly animals.  That picture you have in your mind is of a teddy bear, but I’ll tell you right now get that image out of your head!  Bears can be dangerous and vicious.  Here’s a couple of facts and tips to help you avoid a bad situation with a bear.

When face to face with a bear it can get scary.  So you need to know what you’re doing.  The first thing to keep in mind is never run from a bear, because it can outrun you in a heart beat.  If you are close to a bear make sure you stand your ground so you don’t look like easy prey, but make sure you talk to it in a soft tone of voice so you don’t look so threatening.  For all of you who like to hunt heed this warning: do not approach a bear from the front.  You may see the bear laying on its belly with its arms out and it may look dead, but be careful; they’ve been known to wait and jump up.  If the following tips fail and the bear actually comes up and attacks you, try and play dead.  Now playing dead doesn’t always work so if it keeps attacking, lay on your stomach to protect your stomach vitals, and lock your hands around your neck to protect it.

There aren’t many situations where you’ll come face to face with a bear.  If you pack your food and dispose of your waste properly it’ll decrease the likelihood of an incident.  Bears have a keen sense of smell, so it’s important to have a  bear bag or canister.  It’s not just food you need to worry about but also deodorant and toothpaste,  because they smells that attract bears too.  When placing your bear bag in a tree it’s important to keep in mind: the bear bag should be hung 10-12 ft off the ground, it should also be 6-8 ft away from the tree trunk, and 4 ft below the limb you hang it on.  It is important to dispose of your food packaging properly by burning it, so the bears don’t smell it.  When walking you must be sure to make noise either by clapping or banging on pans to give the bear a fair warning that you’re near.

So stay safe when camping.  Do not forget these helpful facts and tips.  Being prepared is important, so if you have any questions feel free to comment below.  Here are some links that might also help you with bears, one of which is this guy named Timothy Treadwell who spends his life with bears and eventually gets killed by one.  Warner Herzog made an incredible documentary on Timothy’s life, so I’ll also put a link to the movie trailer that so you can check it out.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWA7GtDmNFU
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYgo1wvYH7s
• https://youtu.be/GnQygS85Mxk

The First Christian Emperor

Constantine was a great man.  He was born in 320 AD.  Constantine was a good influence for the Roman empire.  In 305 AD Constantine became an “Augustus”, which was a high position in Rome.  Emperor Diocletian created the tetrarchy system which would divide the ruling of the empire and strengthen Rome.  The tetrarchy system consisted of four rulers, two in the East and two in the West.  The emperors of the East and West were called “Augustus”, and their assistants were called “Caesar”.

In 306 Constantine’s father Costantius died in Britain during battle.  It was also in this same year that Constantine became the 57th emperor of Rome.  It was in 312 AD that Constantine faced his rival Maxenius in Italy, at the Milivian Bridge on Tiber River.  Constantine had a vision, and before the battle ordered the Christian symbol to be painted on his soldiers shields, and they won.  In 325 AD Constantine reunited the empire, this marked the end of the civil war of the tetrarchy.  Constantine had a great many accomplishments, one of which was when he moved the capitol to Constantinople, the modern day city of Istanbul.

It wasn’t until 337 AD that Constantine on his deathbed, converted to Christianity, and came up with the Edict of Milan.  The Edict of Milan made Christianity the official state religion and Christians could no longer be persecuted.  This edict had to be re-enforced many times.  God uses all sorts of people for His glory, even Roman emperors.

Trend Setter

Today’s immodest fashion trend is what everyone looks to, but every era of history had its own fashion trend.  Although it was a more modest fashion people craved way back when.  Trust me, fashion trends even existed during the time of the Roman empire.

In the Roman empire for men the style of clothing was to wear a toga, which was a loose flowing outer garment worn by citizens of ancient Rome, made of a single piece of cloth and covering the whole body apart from the arm.  Another part of fashion for men was wearing a knee-length tunic.  Now if you were a senator you would wear a white tunic with a purple stripe down the front.  Footwear for men and for women were just leather sandals, unless you were a solider or worked outside then you wore boots.  The men’s hairstyle was just short hair and a beard.  This trend became popular because of emperor Hadrian the third, of the five good emperors, because of his love of the Greek culture he made the beard popular.

Now the fashion statement for the women Rome were wearing was a stolla- a full body robe that went over a tunic, and a palla- a large piece of rectangle fabric, used like a scarf or draped over the women’s hair.  Hairstyles for women grew more complex during the empire which included braiding, plaiting, and often time wigs.  The women of Rome obtained these wigs cruelly by taking their slave’s hair and forming it into a wig.

It’s nice to feel popular, but if you must obtain it by dramatically changing the way God made you, and treating others in an evil way, then I don’t want popularity.  The Romans were very concerned about how they looked.  Thanks for reading my essay, if you have any questions please comment below.

What the Bible says about Creation

Quick background info: Since graduating high school I no longer have weekly writing assignments. I have grown to really love blogging and so in order to continue I am getting all of my topics/questions from my readers, friends and family! I will be posting polls occasionally, and I would love to hear your opinion! If you also […]

via Is God Real & Where is The Proof? Part One: The First Day — lilthelovebug

This essay is very well written and is completely true!

Empress

I know a mom who is super.

She is the best at what she does,

And that is everything.

Mother of many, housewife,

Children’s and VBS director, she cooks, she cleans,

And boy is it a job!  An anglophile, bookworm, plus

Intellectually great!  I have inherited

Her quick wit and personality.

Yes, try and express that your

Mother’s the best, but has she ever

Received the greatest mother certificate

You made her in kindergarten?

I hate to boast but it’s really

No joke that my mom is the best.

Can you top her apple crumble?

I think not!

She is no queen you see,

She’s really much better than that

She is my empress.

My mother is a great role model

A devoted wife, mother,

Daughter, and Christian.

she walks us through the Bible, and

Helps me when times get tough.

I’ll say it again so

Keep this in mind, she is no queen,

She’s really much better than that

She is my empress!

 

The Roman Economy

Every country does different things, celebrates different holidays, and cooks different dishes.  Each aspect of a country makes it unique, which is the appeal for many in traveling.  The ancient Roman empire was very different in the way their culture worked, this is what made learning about the Roman empire so exciting.

There were three different classes in Rome: the Patricians (upper-class), the Plebeians (middle-class), and slaves (lower-class).  There weren’t a lot of slaves in Rome until it became an empire.  It is terrible to have your rights and freedoms taken away as if you are some sort of pet, which is what they did to slaves.  Working conditions were terrible for slave, the worst was having to work in the mines.

The coinage for Rome was the denarius, which is the equivalent to a day’s worth of wages.  When the empire expanded and there was need for more money, the Roman government started putting less silver in their coins, thus making the coins less valuable.  So the Romans resorted to bartering instead of using the coinage for most things.  Sound familiar?  America needed more money so we started making paper, which only has value when backed by silver or gold, we just act like it’s really worth something.  So, because of the cut on silver and gold if America gave back its worthless paper money in return for gold, the government wouldn’t have enough to supply us.

The Roman empire is an interesting topic to learn about.  If you read this essay and find yourself interested in the Roman empire than do some more research.  Please feel free to comment if you have any questions.

The Adventures of Sir Kay

There was an old legend that went like so-

Together the men around the table gathered; From their mouths whispers and hush

Spread like wild fire.  Boom!

From the door hence entered Sir Kay

 Hair in a tuff, beer belly full

 Escaping the gaze of the wide

 Open eyes and gaping mouths

 Sir Arthur declared the act a disgrace

 Sir Percival in an uproar

 Sir Bedivere in plain shock

 All the while Sir Lancelot cry

 For justice and discipline

 Rang through the court

 With an “aye” the men agreed

 To make up for this terrible deed Sir Kay

 Must unlock the chest of soberness

In the Northern Mountains.

Given an hour to prepare though Sir Kay was

Unaware of the journey he must fare

Ogres and dragons night after night

Terrible frights in plain sight

Bumpy roads, mosquitoes galore

Thorns and brambles dig deep in the skin

Oh, what a terror for bread and water the stomach must taste, until

Soberness is unlocked

A blistering butt, an aching appendix

Not to far in the future rheumatism sparks

Now Sir Kay thought for a while

Deciding to put off the aches and pain

And just simply retire.

Preparing for My Camping Trip

I’m very excited, I am one week away from transitioning from backpacking to camping!  I’ve enjoyed everything I learned in the backpacking session.  One of my projects for backpacking is planning my own camping/hiking trip, so I have a chance to use everything I’ve learned.  One of the ways I must prepare for this trip is to get all of my equipment ready, and find out what I need (not what I think I need).

The first thing I’m looking at is the clothes I will bring.  A good thing to keep in mind while choosing your clothes is the layering system: Base layer, mid-layer/insulation layer, outer-layer/shell layer.  This all really depends on what weather you’ll be facing.  The place I will be camping at will be hot and wet so I will definitely bring a rain jacket, although they can get expensive but I’m sure Wal-Mart might have a good price for one.  It’s good to look for ones that say they’re waterproof or water resistant.  Now for traveling through the heat you might not want to wear cotton, it does not dry easily when wet from water or sweat.  Another thing to remember is when choosing your clothing, that wool and synthetics reduce body odor!  That’s a good thing to know, especially if hiking with your crush!

So keep all of these facts in your head.  They will definitely help you on your camping trip and maybe help you with trivia.  Good luck, and if you’re not already on backpacking then prepare for this great session.

Hadrian (Publis Aelius Hadrianus Augustus)

Publis Aelius Hadrianus Augustus (people just call him Hadrian) was born in Spain in   76 AD.  His parents both died in 86 AD, and Hadrian became a ward to Emperor Trajan.  When Trajan died of an illness in 117 AD, Hadrian was named as his successor.  Hadrian was the fourteenth Emperor of Rome and was the third of the five Great Emperors (Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antonius Pius, and Marcus Aurelius).

Hadrian was obsessed with Greek culture, and was very open about his philhellenism (love of Greek culture).  He loved the Greek culture so much that he even made the beard a trend in Rome, which beards were more of a Greek thing.  In fact at a young age he picked up the nickname Graeculus, which means Greekling.  Hadrian unlike most of the emperors was very involved in his empire, he worked on strengthening what the empire had already conquered instead of expanding  Rome’s territory.  For all of Hadrian’s 21-year reign he had full support from the Senate and the military.  This very hard to do since the Senate was always so power hungry.  Hadrian was a part of many building projects one of the most famous is Hadrian’s Wall in England.  Of course if you built a huge wall you would name it after yourself.

During Hadrian’s reign his health started to decline and in 138 AD Hadrian died.  Overall Hadrian was a great emperor and kept peace in Rome for many years.  The way Hadrian ruled influenced emperors after him.

The Early Church

If you’re a Christian the church should be an important thing to you.  The church isn’t necessarily the building you worship in, but the group of brothers and sisters in Christ you worship God with.  Now going to church doesn’t make you a Christian, but being connected with a church does help you grow spiritually in your walk with Christ.  Hebrews 10: 24-25 says “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

So by saying that we know church is important, so how did it start?  So after Jesus died a brutal death for our sins, He rose from the grave three days later.  During the time when Jesus was alive the twelve men following Him were called disciples, meaning “learners”.  When Jesus went up to Heaven in a cloud, the disciples took everything they learned from Jesus, and became apostles “one who is sent out”.  These are the twelve disciples called and commissioned by the Lord Jesus Christ-

• Simon Peter- the prominent preacher among the apostles; Andrew’s brother
• James- the older brother of John; called “James the Greater”
• John- younger brother of James
• Andrew-Simon Peter’s brother
• Philip-credited with spreading the gospel through Ethiopia
• Thomas-known as “doubting Thomas”
• Bartholomew
• Mathew-previous name was Levi, he was a former tax collector
• James-called “James the Lesser”
• Simon
• Thaddeus-brother of “James the Lesser” and Mathew
• Judas Iscariot-who betrayed Jesus
• Matthias-chosen to replace Judas Iscariot

Now after Jesus ascended into Heaven believers were given the gift of the Holy Spirit, which doesn’t live inside of you until you are saved.  The twelve apostles spread God’s Word to all sorts of people.  It is our job to do the same whether at home or abroad.