Emily Rachelle Writes

 I'm a teenager.  I know firsthand that teenagers, especially as we get older, have responsibilities and lifestyles that are different than an adult's, while we often have the maturity level and understanding of many adults.  Therefore, I love to read advice articles written for adults, especially Christianity-related.  However, it often frustrates me when such articles have titles that sound promising - I think Ooh, I could really use help with that right now! I wonder what they suggest? - and then I read the article and realize that it's specific to a certain full-time job or part of adult life that doesn't relate to me.

Most people don't naturally think of siblings as cool.  Bossy or annoying, yes.  Cool, friendly, awesome, even fun to be with?  Not so much.  But not all siblings are like that - we can all think of at least one person, even if it's on television or in a book, whose older brother is their hero or who protects and loves their little sister above all else. I'm not an expert at sibling affection (as if), but I do have brothers and a female cousin who seems particularly attached to me.  So, since I can at least relate to older sisters and sister-figures, I thought I'd share my own personal experience on what makes you cool to people with fewer years behind them.  Please note that these tips are neither in order of importance nor infallible. Also, I'm not going to list "be patient" or "be nice."  If you're reading this post, then you obviously want to be a cool older sister, so you should already know those things are both important and imposs...

  Week Six: DIY Painted Bobby Pins {all photos linked to source}   The Pin:     Nail polish bobby pins  

This list was drawn up by one of the pastors at my church, Mikado Baptist, and he gave me permission to share it here.  I keep it pinned to my bulletin board (real, not Pinterest!) as inspiration. Just a note: my previous list of 9 Ways to be a Better Steward of the Earth now has a pinnable image!

Sneak by Evan Angler A secret Markless community is growing across the globe, and Logan Langly's mission to save his sister is about to bring them all together. Click the cover to buy I'll let you read the original back-cover description for this one, but be warned there may be spoilers.  (To read the description, highlight it with your cursor.) When Logan went on the run after the events of SWIPE, no one thought he could survive on his own. He proved them wrong. But when Logan finally makes it to Beacon City, he finds that the capital holds more secrets than anyone could have guessed. And all his careful planning is worthless against a government that will do anything to gain absolute control.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green Click the cover to buy I'll be honest.  This review is going to be hard for me.  When a book affects me like this one, I normally add it to my mental list of favorites and vow never to write a review because I'll be too biased (by writing style or story) to be honest about the stuff I didn't like.  But it's the only Teen Top Ten nominee that I've read, and as a blogger and reviewer participating in the Teen Read Week Blog Tour, I feel kind of obligated to talk about it. I borrowed this book from a friend who had to write an English paper on its symbolism.  It was full of highlights and underlines and a few marginal notes which were actually fun to read, except one which was a bit of a spoiler.

Today for the TRW blog tour, I've decided to look through the my bookshelf and share some of my favorites.  All cover images are linked to their Amazon store pages.  Also, thought I'd share this link with y'all - the Teen's Top Ten winners ! Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

Some of you may have noticed the button that's been adorning my sidebar for a few weeks now.   You can see what Teen Read Week is or visit my profile at the links.  In a nutshell, it's a week of celebrating and promoting teen reading and young adult fiction.  It's always been a library-based thing, with programs and activities going on at libraries and being shared by word-of-mouth and flyers.

  Week Five: DIY Melted Crayon Art {all photos linked to source}   The Pin:   Naptime = Craft Time! Melty Crayon Art  

  

  Week Four: Dr. Pepper Cookies  {all photos linked to source}   The Pin:     Dr. Pepper Cookies

I've never been a particularly green person.  My family just follows the recycling rules for where we happen live at the moment.  We generally don't buy organic stuff (unless it happens to be more economical) or make our own granola bars.  (Who has the time for that?  Although I've always wanted to try, just once...) There are times, though, when I've wanted to find ways to be a better steward of the world God's given us.  On one of those days a while back, I decided to do some online research, and came up of a list of ideas.  This list then sat buried in my computer until now, as I was desperately searching for something to blog about, and uncovered it.  

This video and petition need a whole lot more American coverage than it's getting. The entire documentary's only 16 minutes, and it takes less than one minute to sign the petition. Please watch at least part of the video and consider signing. Bloggers, readers with lots of Facebook friends, readers who forward pointless chain emails - would you do me a favor and use your influence to get this out to American viewers? See the Causes page and sign the petition: http://www.causes.com/causes/785057-querido-panama/