New blog!

Hello, again. I apologize for not posting so much. Life has been a bit crazy, but thankfully life is beginning to slow down. And because of this, I have news!

I will no longer be posting at this blog, but I have created a new blog called Nomad. I will be posting there regularly about life here in Finland and Bible-related topics that come to mind. I hope that you'll join me over there, and if you have any questions about living in Finland, just let me know, and I'll do my best to answer them!

Have a wonderful day!
Candace Nicole

Bartes and Mildred Alphin: My Heritage

 Bartes and Mildred Alphin (approx. 2010)

I love all my grandparents very dearly, but today I would like to talk about my father's parents. It has been over a year since my grandfather passed, and over three years since my grandmother passed. Born in the 1920's, they watched as the world around them shifted with each and every decade. It's amazing to thing that, while they were young, things such as the garbage disposal (1927) electric guitar (1931), the pH meter (1935), ATMs (1939), the space observatory (1946), the defibrillator (1947),  the artificial heart (1952), and the radar gun (1954) were invented. My grandparents saw so much in their lifetime, and they heritage they have left me is irreplaceable.

What is my inheritance? As a child, we would visit them about twice a year, on Christmas or Thanksgiving, and during the summer also. My grandparents always woke up early. I was quite the early bird at that age, so I would wake up around 6:30-8 am almost every day. I would wake up and walk upstairs and find 2 things: a box of fresh glazed doughnuts and my grandparents, sitting in their chairs. Every morning, Grandpa would go to the grocery store and buy us doughnuts for breakfast. They woke up to pray and to read their Bible. I found them so many times just peacefully reading. They loved God and His word more than anything else, and they loved to talk about it.

My grandparents gave me an inheritance of honesty and being the best one could be. They believed in always being honest, no matter what. They were hard workers. Grandma and Grandpa had a very large family (12 children), and they worked so hard to make sure everything was provided. My grandfather gave me my stubbornness. Despite bad hips, health problems, and a missing thumb (work accident), I would occasionally find my carpenter grandfather in his wood shop in the back of the house building something. He pushed through no matter what problem came his way. My grandmother taught me to always be ready to show love. She always had a kind word and a smile available for anyone, and she was never angry. Even if Grandpa was a little grumpy, it would never change her disposition. She was naturally a happy person, always ready to make a happy comment or show someone she cared. She would crochet clothes for our dolls, and she wrote us letters often. They both loved people, and they were always ready to help someone if a problem showed. They gave me an inheritance of compassion. They cared about people, and they cared about each other. They loved each other very much. It was in their actions, their words, their way of being with each other. My gruff grandfather softened up whenever my grandmother was involved. And my grandmother always did her best to take care of him.

I remember the phone calls that we used to have. They always asked about school, and about church. It was so important to them that we receive a good education. They always encouraged us to put our best into our studies and do our best. They were always proud of us. But the parts of those phone calls that I will always remember is when they spoke of God. My grandparents were stalwart believers and they had great relationships with God. I didn't fully realize how meaningful their words were until later on, because I was so young, but now I am so thankful that my grandparents encouraged me. They would encourage me to pray, read my Bible, and keep believing. They would tell me, "Jesus is coming soon; don't stop believing. Keep praying and seeking God." Even in the letters Grandma sent, she would encourage us. And when we would leave them to go back home to Ohio, we would all pray together. My grandparents weren't pastors, neither were they what we would consider ministers. They were just simple country people. But they impacted so many peoples' lives because of their faith in God. I will always remember those phone calls. I can still hear their thick Arkanzan accents, encouraging me to keep the faith.

I called Grandpa once, and I remember that he was in such a good mood, telling me that he had been listening to sermons and gospel music all day long. At that point he was not getting out much at all, so that was his opportunity to hear God's Word. He told me that he was so thankful for it, he didn't know how he would manage without. He loved to be in God's presence; they both did. They were always sad when they weren't able to make it to church.

When my grandfather was on his deathbed last year, Grandpa's pastor and his wife, my parents, and I stood around his hospital bed and pray and sing. Grandpa and Grandma loved the old hymns. We would stand in that hospital room singing about God's peace and love, and that peace would just fill the room. I was able to watch my grandfather slowly slip away from this world, knowing that he would one day step into the throne room of Jesus Christ. I had peace, because I knew that this man of God would be dancing on streets of gold... no walker and no pain.

This is my heritage: good Christian character and a love for God. My grandparents can be pleased to know that, if that was what they were trying to accomplish, then they succeeded.

 (2010)

(I was probably 5-7)

(2014, about 2 months before my grandfather's passing)

Obituary for Mildred Leona Alphin 

Obituary for Bartes Elisha Alphin 

Have a great day! Remember, keep the faith.

Candace Nicole

The God of Unrequited Love

In Christianity, we teach that God is love, and that He loves unconditionally. This is absolutely true, and the Bible speaks often of this. Many of us have sang "Jesus Loves Me," which we've known since we were young children. We quote John 3:16, tell others of God's love... As Christians, His love is very important to us. It is unconditional, everlasting, unchanging, unfailing... there are not enough adjectives to describe God's love. But, there's one facet of His love that we seem to ignore. Which one? Unrequited love.

The definition of unrequited, according to Merriam Webster, is not reciprocated or returned in kind; not requited. Looking at simple English etymology, the prefix "un-" means the opposite of, or not. To requite is simply to return or retaliate.

Now, I know that unrequited love is not a nice topic. It's painful, and brings back memories of when we ourselves loved unrequitedly. It is a hard subject. And, I think that, because of the weight of our own memories, we tend to not pay attention to this part of God's love. We don't want to think that God loves us unrequitedly, because then we must face the fact that we have turned God away and hurt Him countless times simply because we have not received His love. Think about it for a moment. There are around 6 billion people in this world, and God loves all of them. How many people, do you think, do not return His love? How many people chase after gods who are not real? How many people simply shun God? We may love many people in our lives, and we may even love some with a God-like love. Imagine someone that you love unconditionally, say, your husband, if you're married. If you found that they had been robbing banks, you would forgive and still love them. Your love wouldn't fade, no matter what they did. That's unconditional love. Now, imagine that person suddenly leaving you. You know how you would feel; I don't need to spell it out for you. This person is gone, and you still love them. That is unrequited love. Now, imagine if you loved 6+ billion people unconditionally, and many of them didn't feel the same way about you. How would you feel? It's the same with God. But, I believe it is on a larger scale, because He is the way for all to be saved.

Imagine you're a doctor, and you've just found the cure for cancer. You walk up to your patient, who is on the brink of death, and tell them, "I've found a cure for your cancer! Let's start as soon as possible so you can be well soon!" They reply, "No! Don't cure me! I'm perfectly happy as I am now. Why would I want to change? Don't come near me!" How would you feel? Now, let's step it up a notch. Again, you're the doctor, but this person is someone that you love unconditionally. The same scene plays out. How would you feel now? Bingo. God loves us all unconditionally, and he has the way for us to be saved. If God was that doctor, and we the patient, how would that conversation take place? We would want that cure, wouldn't we? You would think so. There are 6+ billion people in the world today; think of how many people do not follow the true path of salvation. Now, this can be because they don't know what is true; they could be deceived. But, there are also many people who simply refuse God because they want to. God loves them unconditionally, but also unrequitedly.

A few days ago, I was thinking about Christ and his unconditional love, and that is when I realized that God loved unrequitedly also, not just unconditionally. I believe that unrequited love is one of the strongest types of unconditional love. It is easy to love someone who openly loves you back. But to love someone who does not return that love? It is one of the most difficult things to endure. And, God endures that every single day from countless people.

We know of unrequited love. It is spoken of in music, poetry, films, books... everywhere you look, there it is. But, if we stopped for a moment, and thought of how God loves unrequitedly, not just unconditionally... think of how many people hurt Him, day after day, and yet His love for them never dies... our lives as Christians would change drastically. God is reaching out to all of us, wanting to love us. Will we let him?

Fasting: the Subject of the Day

Every year, during the month of January, my family completes a fast. I have always been taught that fasting is a good thing for us to do, and I agree wholeheartedly. It is beneficial to our mind, our spirit, and sometimes even our body. It brings us closer to God, helps us hone our self-control, and helps us keep our flesh in check, allowing our spirit to grow.

Let's look at a story in the Bible. In Mark 9:17-29, a man brings his possessed son to Jesus, and this is what takes place:


And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. 

Notice the last verse. This man had brought his son first to the disciples, but they could not cast the spirit out. Then, they take the boy to Jesus, and in one sentence, just one, the spirit is gone. Obviously, because Jesus is God incarnate, he could have easily just looked at the spirit and uttered a silent command, or maybe just waved His hand, and it would have scampered away so quickly that it would have tripped over itself multiple times. Why did he speak? To teach the disciples a lesson. And, thankfully, they realized that they were missing something. They went to Jesus and asked Him, "Why could not we cast him out?" to which he replied, "This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting." Pretty interesting, huh? Here's the same story, but told by Matthew (Matthew 17:14-21):


And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. 

And in Luke 9:37-42:

And it came to pass, that on the next day, when they were come down from the hill, much people met him. And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child. And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him. And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not. And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither. And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father. 

(One thing to remember about the different versions is that, they were written by three separate men with three varying viewpoints. And each man wrote with a different purpose in mind. Because of this, sometimes the details are slightly varied, but all of the stories are still correct.)

One interesting thing to note is that fasting, in the Bible, when speaking of spiritual things, is always coupled with prayer. We'll talk about this later on. In this story, it appears that they were also having some issues with lack of faith and unbelief (which some could argue as being the same thing). Jesus did touch on this with them, and, from Matthew 17:20, we find the famous "faith as a mustard seed" Scripture. But He also left them a clue. "Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." (Matthew) "This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting." (Mark) In law, they teach that during a trial, one must have 2 or more agreeing witnesses for something to be true. In that case, there's your proof.

But, you might say, "Hey, wait! They didn't fast while Jesus was with them." That's true. In Luke 5:33-35, Jesus explains why, and later in the chapter even gives a parable concerning it.

"And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink? And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days."

Jesus, the bridegroom, was with them. Let's look at it this way, when you're at a wedding, do you wear all black to the wedding? Do you skip bringing a present? Do you forbid yourself to eat cake? Do you avoid laughing, smiling, congratulating, and enjoying the day with the new couple? Of course not! Weddings are meant to be a celebration of a new life, a time of fun, love, and laughter. You wouldn't want to be mopey during such a great moment, would you? Exactly. And this is why they didn't fast. (This story also appears in Matthew 9:14-15 and Mark 2:19-20.)

Fasting is a hard thing. One must sacrifice their flesh and must submit themselves. And, the only part of us that enjoys that is our spirit. Let's face it. No one likes going without food, staying with a certain type of diet (Daniel's fast), avoiding their favorite video game, staying away from media, or any other type of thing that you may fast. It's not fun, because your flesh wants to do those things, but you are choosing to not do so. Because Jesus was with them, it was a time of celebration. I mean, seriously, if you were hanging out with God incarnate, would you want to be mopey? No way! I'd be having the time of my life! "Hey, Jesus, I'll race you to the top of this mountain. Oh, look! You're already there." "Hey, want to play Scrabble?" "Hey, want to have a juggling competition?" "Can you tell me in chronological order the events of Earth's history?" "How exactly did you come up with light?" "How did you confuse the languages at the Tower of Babel?" "How do our speech processors work?" "How exactly do the  signal-carrying electrical currents travel throughout the body?" "How does my brain tell my legs to move?" "Why do I not like oranges, but love orange juice?" "Hey, let's have a party! I'll introduce you to all my friends!" If God incarnate was sitting in your living room, what would you do?

Earlier, I spoke of a clue. My belief is that Jesus was giving them direction for their coming ministries. Because it is true: if you wish to further your ministry into the unknown, you must first fast and pray. You can't receive this kind of growth through other's relationship with God (Acts 19:13-16). Let's look at it this way. Say you're trying to lose weight. If your friend goes for a run, and you just sit on the couch, will you lose any weight? No! Why not? Your friend was exercising! Because you did not do the work. Fast forward a few months... the process is the same. Every day your friend goes for a run, and you just sit on the couch. Who will lose the weight? The Friend will. It is the same application. You do not see progress in yourself unless you do the work.

Jesus was saying, Hey, you're going to need this tool after my ascension. You'll need to call upon My Name for these things to happen, and when that happens, you'll need to be prepared. He knew that those men were going to shake the world to its very core. He had planned it all, and now He was preparing them. 

Why is it important that you couple prayer and fasting? I can answer this in one word: temptation. In Matthew 26:41, it reads, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Now, just so you're aware, this verse has nothing to do with fasting. In fact, this verse comes from when Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane before His crucifixion. The disciples had fallen asleep, and Jesus was warning them of the vulnerability of the flesh towards temptation. Although this verse is not related to fasting at all, the concept is the same. When one fasts, they are putting their flesh into submission. They sacrifice their fleshly desires. Because of this sacrifice, our fleshly selves are not pleased at all. They don't like it, nor do they enjoy it one bit. Which means that when temptation comes along, it comes with great strength, and our flesh wishes to indulge in that temptation. This is why prayer is coupled with fasting. To fast without prayer is to have a lopsided table. If you place something on the table, it will fall off and crash onto the floor. But, if you fast and pray, your table is level, and the strength combined is enough to hold up what is placed onto the table. You become stronger spiritually, and are more able to fight these temptations.

Fasting is not a bad thing at all. Even Jesus fasted (Matthew 4:1-11). Fasting only becomes bad for you if you either 1) do it for the wrong reasons, or 2) do it ignorantly. The average person can go without food for 40 days. Some people can't go without food for very long periods because of the way their body is made, and some people can't do it at all due to health reasons. That's ok. Fasting is not only abstinence from food. True fasting is in your motives; it is only true fasting when you purpose to put God first. You look at your priorities and what you do most, and if those priorities have nothing to do with God, then you purpose to change what you are doing, and sometimes cut it out completely for a time. This even counts with food, because it is quite often that food can become such a great temptation. Fasting is simply the practice of self-control and sacrifice of the flesh, which results in God being first in your life. As an example, for 30 days I did Daniel's fast where I did not eat meat, dairy, eggs, or sweets. I also fasted videos, a particular video game, and for two weeks I fasted Facebook & Pinterest. Please understand that I am not bragging. Any effort to fast is a great thing, no matter how great or how small. I'm showing you that it's not always necessary to fast food. It's often preferred because you must really control flesh more so than if you weren't watching movies or playing a video game. But it's also important to look at the other things in your life. I had been spending too much time on my video game, movies, Facebook, and Pinterest. Because of this, I chose to abstain from those things; I needed to refocus. My parents and I decided to do Daniel's fast because we would have unified fasting in our home, which is good when you are a team of ministry.

Moving on, fasting is very good and beneficial. If you are trying to fast food but have medications that you need to take food with, I'm sure God will understand if you have to eat a piece of bread with your medicine. Sometimes, we have to make exceptions because of health reasons. But, if we are healthy, there is no reason for us to have exceptions. Everyone in the church is on different levels of spiritual understanding. One cannot expect a new convert to suddenly go with no food for 40 days. They must grow to the point where they can achieve it. To be honest, I've never fasted food completely before, and last month was the first time I had done Daniel's fast for 30 days. This doesn't make me any less of a Christian. I have simply not felt that I was ready spiritually for a no-food fast, and doing Daniel's fast for 30 days was an accomplishment in itself for me. It is a process for everyone. The more you grow, the more you can do. It's like a child... they must crawl before they walk, sit before they stand, and speak jibberish before they talk. I freely admit that I'm still growing, and that I'm far from finished. But, I do my best to grow, and in the future, I will complete a no-food fast. It's a personal goal.

As followers of Christ, we must continuously align our priorities correctly, sacrifice our flesh, strengthen our spirit, and strive to move closer to God. As a result, we do become closer with Him, we learn more about Who He is, and He, in turn, furthers our ministries. And fasting is a successful method to accomplish this. I think that I would rather place my flesh in check, if it meant that I could help someone come to the place where they can receive God's Spirit. That's a fair trade, don't you think?

Have a lovely day!

Motley & Company

My friend, Alyssa, is opening an Etsy.com store! While this sort of thing isn't something I would normally blog about, my friend is special. And her reason for having this online store is special as well.

Alyssa has worked very hard for the past 3+ years to help supply money for UPCI global missionaries to have automobiles. All of the money which she has raised goes to a project called "Sheaves For Christ." You can read about it here. I don't even know all of the tactics that she's used, but I know she's made so many scarves and done everything that she could to make her goal. She has done so well, and raised so much money, that she has won the "Real McCoy" contest held by the UPCI General Youth Division multiple times. You can read about it here. This gal is special, and she has done so much to help us missionaries while we're out here on the field.

Why am I writing about this? I am so glad that you asked! Alyssa's Etsy.com store, Motley & Company, is going to be her venue for raising these funds for missionaries. She's going to have bags, purses, scarves... so many amazing and stylish handmade items for a great price. The profits will go towards "Sheaves for Christ" to help us missionaries. God has blessed her efforts, and I know that if you'll help out, He'll bless yours, too. Her shop opens on February 1st, 2013. So, please, stop by the store on opening day! And, if you could help Alyssa out by telling your friends and family about it, it would be such an amazing thing!
Motley & Company's Facebook

Thank you so much, and have a lovely day!

Happy new year! - Purposeful planning for 2013

Happy new year, everyone! Looking back over the last year, it was a good year. It was a very hard year, and I learned a lot of lessons. But in retrospect, it was still a good year, and I'm better for having lived through it.

I regret, however, that I didn't blog near as much as I would have liked. But, I normally only do it when I have a very strong inspiration. I will still be writing as such, but I also am going to develop a plan for some topics that I will be writing about. Many of them stem from my recent lessons in life.

Believe me when I say I don't have all the answers. I'm recently 18, single, and ready to push on and climb the mountain of adulthood. My new years resolutions include becoming fit, getting my ministerial license with the Nordic region of the UPCI, learning to drive, becoming an AIM, getting into University, and finding a job. Some of these I can complete pretty easily, but others, not so much. Getting a driving license here requires a bit of money, getting into university is difficult, and I need to read quite a few books, teach some Bible studies, and sit in a room full of people and be interrogated to get my ministerial license. Well, not really, but I'm told that they ask very difficult questions. So, these are my challenges, and I am completely confident that I will complete them.

Since I am currently in the mode of purposeful planning for the next year, I decided that it would be a good idea to make some plans about blogging. I had a recent conversation with a friend and we talked of some topics of which I should write. Keep your eyes open for when they show up, and we'll have a lovely ride. And if you'd like me to write about a topic, feel free to ask. I can't guarantee I'll write about it, but I just might. So, without further or do, the topics chosen so far are:

• Perspective
• What Christ is to you
• Positivity vs. Negativity
• Growth/moving forward
• Soulwinning

This is my year of purpose. I am preparing myself for the responsibilites that face me as an adult, as a grown woman, as a worker, as a one-day future wife, as a Christian, and as a minister. When my parents leave for the States to raise money for the work here, I will stay behind and work with our group, not only to maintain, but also to expand. Here I will create my home, and if God tells me to leave Finland, or I get married to someone from another country, only then I will leave. If not, here I will stay. Finland presents many challenges to me, and I look forward to facing them with God's help.

What are your resolutions? Will this be a year of purposeful planning for you, too?

Have a lovely day!

How will the story end?

I found this a couple months ago in Helsinki. "I'M ALONE. I NEED LOVE." I took a photo of it nearly as soon as I saw it, because it made me think very hard. How desperate, how hopeless must this person's life be, that they would feel that it was necessary to reach out to people that they will probably never meet? How destitute must they feel, that they could not even rely on their family or friends? How hurt were they? How lonely, how depressed? In a place where many things were written, some of it not very clean and rather stupid, there is a message from someone begging for love. Everyone needs love. It is a natural desire; we wish to feel that we are loved, that we are needed. Without love, life is pretty much hopeless. We need it in our lives daily. I try to tell my family and friends that I love them as much as I can, because I understand that it is important. I know what it feels like to wonder if one is loved or not. Because of this, I want to be sure that those close to me know that I love them. But let's get back to the subject: how does the story end?

As I said earlier, how hopeless must this person be? How often do you go to complete strangers, or write to people that you will never meet, and tell them that you are alone and need love? You wouldn't do it at all! You would go to a close friend or someone that you trusted and tell them. So, how desperate must this person have been? I think they must have been horribly desperate. How does the story end? This person probably has about 4 options. 1) They trudge on through life, hoping for that day when they will discover love. 2) They sleep around/have a one-night stand with the promise of love, but they'll most likely end up feeling worse than before. 3) They end everything and commit suicide. 4) They find someone who will introduce them to Jesus Christ and they will feel His undying love.

What do you think is the ending? How does this story end? We will probably never know. But think, there are millions of stories that are the same, billions even. People who feel lonely and unloved. People who just want to know that they are important, that they are appreciated, needed, and loved. We all know these people. We may not realize it, but we do. There are people in our lives that feel this way. What are we doing about it? What are we, as followers of Christ, doing to show these people God's love?

I did a post a little bit ago about conditional love versus unconditional love. I'll try to not bring up the same points, but there is something that we need to consider. The Bible speaks often of taking care of others and showing them God's love. This is one of the main points of missionaries: we go out into the world and show God's love. Someone once said that everyone is a missionary whether they realize it or not. You are the missionary to your neighborhood, your workplace, your school... what surrounds your life is your mission field. If we looked at our lives and our surroundings this way, I believe there would be less people who felt lonely and unloved. Why? When one has God's peace, they are not lonely. When one has God's love, they are not unloved, but rather loved with a love that will never die, nor falter in strength. Look at 1 Corinthians 13:1-7. If we don't have God's love within us, or are not showing that love, then we, as Christians are useless. If we are useless, then people will go to hell. People who WE could have helped.We all need to remind ourselves of this continuously.

This photo deserves a grand speech, and I admit that I do not have words enough to convey my thoughts when I look at it.  But my question to you is this: how do you want the story to end?


Have a lovely day!
Candace Nicole