Author: OwenPitts

   I don’t know whether it was a dream or if I had really been transported back in time. Let me tell you my story. I was going to bed as usual and fell asleep. All of a sudden, I noticed that something was licking my face. After I opened my eyes, I saw stars and a sheep licking my face! I jumped up as fast as I could and looked around and found out that I was on a hillside surrounded by sheep! I was like, “What in the world?! Where am I?” I saw a town in the distance, but it did not look like a modern-day town.

   I said, “Where are all the cars, and the streetlights, and why are the people there using candles instead of electricity, and those houses dod not look like our house.”

   Once I turned around, I noticed shepherds, but these shepherds had on tunics and robes and had shepherd canes. When we were trying to figure out who each other were, a bright light appeared in the night sky, and we were so afraid. But a loud, booming voice said, “Fear not, for behold, I bring tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For unto you this day in the city of David…”

   I could not believe what I was hearing! This was the night Jesus was born! After the angels left, we went to see Jesus. After I saw Jesus, I began to feel sleepy. I laid down on a piece of hay and fell asleep. When I woke up, I was in my bed again. What a night!

   The five points of plot are exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. I read “The Hardy Boys”, book number 2 over the summer. It was written by Franklin W. Dixson. I am going to explain the points of plot in that book.

   The exposition is normally at the beginning of the book and introduces the main character or main characters. In the book, the main characters are the Hardy brothers, Frank and Joe, their friend, Chet, and someone named Spencer Given who hired them to go on his ship with him on a trip to make sure it will not be sabotaged.

   The rising action leads to the climax while building tension in the story. At the beginning of the book, they were warned not to go on the ship and to turn down the deal Spencer had given them. Another time when they were on the ship, someone pushed Frank over the side of the boat toward the turning propeller, but he was saved. Another time when they were in a cabin on some cots, a bulldozer crashed through, but the boys dodged it just in time. They meet a lot of other dangers along the way.

   The climax is the highest point of action in a book. The climax in “The Hardy Boys” is when the three boys get captured, but Chet escapes and calls the police.

   The falling action solves the tension that was built up earlier in the book. That is when the police find and rescue the boys and arrest the bad guys.

   The resolution is the end of a story. In the book, the resolution is when the boys find all the clues to what the bad guys were doing.

   Justinian was a very powerful and successful ruler in the Eastern Roman Empire. He began his life as a shepherd boy, but he walked to Constantinople at age 16 just to meet his uncle Justin. After the previous emperor died, Justin became emperor which meant Justinian would become the next emperor. He became emperor in 527 A.D. and ruled for 40 years. He became Justinian the Great for his successful accomplishments as emperor. In 537 A.D. a magnificent cathedral named the Hagia Sophia was built by Justinian. He also constructed at least 34 churches! He did this because after praying to God for victory over a battle and winning it, he converted himself to Christianity. He died in 565 A. D.

   After Justinian’s death, the military was too thinly spread and the treasury was running too low on funds so the empire began to decline. Heraclius was the emperor after Justinian. During Heraclius’ reign, the empire was much smaller and weaker by the eighth century. By 800 A.D. it just consisted of Asia Minor and the Balkan Islands. With the loss of size, the empire an was an ordinary European country. It was a Greek state. Christianity was very important to the state. God was supposed to have chosen the emperors and with this claim, they have the ability to rule over the church and state. Even though it was the last of the Roman Empires, it was a strong empire.

My Mentors

Posted 6 years ago by OwenPitts

   God has given me many teachers in my life. One is my pastor, Pastor White. He has given me a lot of knowledge on how to live my life, why people kill, and a whole lot more. He even leads communion! He is also the grandad of some of my friends. Once, he even baptized me!

   Another one is Mr. Anderson. He is one of my Sunday School teachers. I love him. He is the Dad of some more of my friends. He teaches me about the Bible which makes me want to read more of the Bible. He mostly reads out of Acts and then explains it to us. The lessons usually take one hour, but I like the lessons.

   Sometimes Mr. Burgener takes over for Mr. Anderson. He is also the dad of some more of my friends. I like his lessons as well as Mr. Anderson’s lessons. He is friendly. I love him.

   My parents are also great teachers. I have a lot of knowledge from school thanks to my mom. I also know a lot about discipline and obedience thanks to my dad. They also taught me and are teaching me a lot of other stuff. They love me and I intend to love them by obeying them.

   I love all of these people and they are trying to teach me lessons that will help me in my life when I am older. I need to listen as well as I can to their teaching. If I do not listen, my parents are not to blame, I am because I did not listen to my teachers. I intend to listen and do well.

   The Celts were the most populous group in ancient Europe. The Etruscans also lived in ancient Europe in Italy. The Celts did not leave any written records, so how do we know so much about them? From the Roman writing, actually. Celtic burial grounds are often marked with large megaliths. Megaliths are very large stones. The Celts are even credited for inventing something that we could not live without. Can you guess what that is? It is soap! We could never live without soap. There was a lot of Celtic occupations including Chieftains, bards, druids, peasants, and merchants. The Celts also mined and traded salt They used salt to make food good and to keep food from spoiling.

   The two largest rivers that run through India are called the Indus and Ganges rivers. The Aryans came from Southern Russia and settled in the Indus Valley. Chandragupta Maurya ruled India during the rise to its golden age. The government regulated everything that went on, the nation was divided into districts, and they head a large standing army and spy network. Hinduism and Buddhism were promoted after eleven years of war. Priests, Warriors or Nobles, Merchants, Serfs, and Outcasts are the levels of the Indian Caste System.

   India and Europe do not really have many similarities or differences. They had similar caste systems. India was governed by dynasties while Europe was governed by a chief in each clan.

   Ancient Africa is a really cool country. It has the Sahara Desert (the largest desert in the world) and it has the Nile River. The Nile River is not just the longest river in the world, but it also runs north. No other river in the world can do that!

   The Egyptians lived in Egypt, which is in Africa. They are a really cool civilization. The pyramids were built during the Old Kingdom. The pyramids were burial tombs for Pharaohs (kings) and had a square shaped base, and each wall was shaped like a triangle, and all the walls leaned up against each other, which came to a point at the top. The Egyptians even invented a writing system called Hieroglyphics. Each hieroglyph is a word or a word phrase. During the new kingdom, Egypt had its golden age. After Alexander the Great ruled Egypt, a family called the Ptolemies ruled Egypt for almost 300 years! Cleopatra VII was the last ruler of the Ptolemies.

   There were other tribes in Africa like the Egyptians. Some of these civilizations are called Nubia and Axum. Nubia was built south of Egypt on the Nile River and had a society based on trade. Azum was built near the horn of Africa along the Eastern coast of Africa.

   It would be really cool to be an archeologist and study the pyramids and see what life was like. I even wish I could read and write hieroglyphs. I even wish one of my friends could read and write hieroglyphs so we could write secret messages to each other.

History

Posted 6 years ago by OwenPitts

   History started when God created the world and everything in it. That is called creation. When people were deep in sin, after Adam and Eve, God said to Noah that He would send a flood, so He told Noah to build an Ark to save him and his family from the flood. After Noah left the Ark with his family, Noah’s family multiplied and then came the Tower of Babel. When God changed the languages of the people, they went into different parts of the world.

   They settled in all of the seven continents of the world except Antarctica. Next came the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The patriarchs are important because out of them came the twelve tribes of Israel. The twelve tribes became the Jewish nation from where Jesus came. Joseph was the son of Jacob, a patriarch. His brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt, but God used it for good and eventually, he became second-in-command of all of Egypt. After Joseph died, a new ruler came to power who did not know Joseph, and he feared the growing number of the Israelites, so he made them his slaves.

   There were thirty-one dynasties in Egypt. A dynasty is a succession of rulers from the same family line. The Egyptians were also fascinated with their death and the afterlife. We see this because of their interest in spirits and mummification. Moses was sent to free all the Israelites from the Egyptians. God used the Ten Plagues to convince Pharaoh that He was God and to set His people free. Sadly, the children of Israel disobeyed God several times, so they were stuck in the wilderness for forty years!

   God set up judges to govern His people, but the people rebelled against the judges and God many times. They demanded a king, and God gave them what they wanted. Israel’s first king was Saul, then David, then Solomon. When Solomon’s son (Rehoboam) came to power, the kingdom split into the kingdoms of Israel and Judah.

   Greece is located in Southern Europe, near the Mediterranean Sea. Mt. Olympus is located in Greece and supposedly the home of the Greek gods. Homer was a Greek poet who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey. The Greek Olympics were captivating. They held the Olympics just to please their gods.

   Socrates was the first philosopher in ancient Greece. A Philosopher is “someone who engages in thoughtful analysis of the world around them.” Three of Socrates’ students wrote about him. These students were Plato, Aristophanes, and Xenophon. Socrates was a great teacher, but he lacked grace in his teachings. We know a lot about math and science because of many philosophers in Greece.

   The two main city-states in ancient Greece were Athens and Sparta. Life in Sparta was very cruel. They thought family loyalty was the weakness of the city, so they tried many ways to prevent family loyalty. Here is one example. When boys turned age seven, they are sent to the military to be trained as a solder and they were treated very harshly, even from a young age. There were three Peloponnesian Wars between Athens and Sparta, which Sparta eventually won. Athens was weakened by the wars so that made it easier for Alexander the Great to conquer them. Alexander was given the nickname “Alexander the Great” because he never lost a battle. He was so great in battles he conquered a gigantic part of Asia. After he died, his empire fell apart.

      Rome was founded in 753 B.C. by Romulus, the first king of Rome. The Greeks influenced the shaping of Rome. Caesar Augustus was the emperor in Rome who demanded a census very close to Jesus’ birth. Jesus was born in Bethlehem and was visited by shepherds and wise men. Jesus is the son of God. Jesus was rejected by the Jews as the Messiah. Jesus was crucified, buried, rose, and ascended into heaven, which led into the early church. The early church grew when the Holy Spirit started sending out apostles to preach the Gospel throughout the world. Many apostles were martyred because of their faith in Jesus. Constantine I was a Roman emperor and was the first emperor who became a believer. Ignatius, Irenaeus, and Ambrose were some of the early church fathers.

   Pompeii, an ancient Roman vacation site was destroyed by Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Pompeii lay untouched for hundreds of years until archaeologists found the site and it became an archaeological site. Roman fathers were in charge of an entire Roman family. Even though some things are unfair for the girls but fair for the boys, I really want to live there. Farms raised lots of animals and grew many plants. During the Republic, farms were small, but during the Empire, farms were very big. Rome fell because of five things: the division of the empire, lack of military cohesion, economic struggles, political rivalries and turmoil, and moral decline.

   I love what I learned this year!

   I learned a lot about Ancient Africa in my school year and this paper will include some of the stuff I learned about. Africa is home of the largest desert in the world called the Sahara Desert, and the largest river in the world called the Nile River. Not only is the Nile River the largest river in the world, but it is the only river in the world that runs south to north. Africa has many other deserts and a lot more rivers than just the Sahara Desert and the Nile River.

   I had a lot of favorite tribes I liked to learn about, but Egypt was my most favorite (besides Rome). Many of the pyramids were built during the Old Kingdom. Egypt also got its golden age during the New Kingdom. After Alexander the Great’s reign over Egypt, a family named the Ptolemies actually did manage to control Egypt for about 300 years! The last to rule their dynasty was Cleopatra VII. The Egyptians invented hieroglyphs and papyrus scrolls. hieroglyphics are pictures that each mean a word or phrase.

   There are five main reasons why Rome collapsed. The first reason why Rome fell is because the empire was divided. Rome became so big that one ruler could not control all of Rome at once, so Rome was divided into two empires, the Western Emire and the Eastern Empire. They were supposed to fight together against invaders, but instead, they fought against each other, which made each empire weaken. This made it easier for invaders to conquer them.

   The second reason is lack of military cohesion. After Rome goes to fight against barbarians, the army brings barbarians back with them to fight with the Roman army. However, since Rome sometimes fights against other barbarians, the barbarians that are in Rome’s army feel like they’re fighting against family. So, they refused to fight with Rome, which over time, made Rome weak.

   The third reason is economic struggles. Rome’s military was greatly weakened because the barbarians refused to fight with them. This meant that Rome was not strong enough to build new colonies. Without new colonies to give Rome the goods it needs to survive, Rome became very weak.

   The fourth is political rivalries and turmoil. There were fighting and strife among the men who wanted to be the next emperor. Men were probably telling lies about other people to make themselves seem like the better choice for emperor. People just did not know whom they should trust, so they had a hard time voting on who should be the next emperor.

   The final reason is moral decline. The public welfare system began as a good thing because it was helping people in need but eventually turned into a bad thing. People were abusing the system and were basically stealing from the government, who was basically stealing from tax paying citizens. People also had a wrong mindset, they just wanted to be entertained. They would stay up all night at parties and sleep all day rather than going to work. They did not take life seriously. They just wanted to enjoy life. These are the five main reasons why Rome collapsed.

   Ignatius, Irenaeus, and Ambrose were some of teh early church fathers. First, I will be talking about Ignatius. Ignatius was converted to Christ when he was very young. Also, John the apostle was his teacher! Ignatius was a bishop in the church in Antioch. A bishop is someone who serves in a church and makes sure that the pastor, the elders, and the deacons are all doing their jobs correctly. Ignatius also helped in creating the church doctrine.

   Next is Irenaeus. Irenaeus was born in Smyrna. Smyrna is located in modern-day Turkey. Ancient Smyrna could be found north of Ephesus, on the Aegean Sea. He was the first early church father to be born into a Christian family. When he got older, he became a bishop and a pastor in Lyons. Irenaeus preached against two heresies. These heresies were Gnosticism and Montanism. Gnosticism taught that the world was made by an imperfect spirit. It even teaches that Jesus was fully man but not fully God and focused on getting lots of things. Montanism was created by Montanus, a priest. He prophesied contrary to the Bible, saying that the Holy Spirit controlled him.

   And last but not least, Ambrose. Ambrose was a faithful bishop in Milan for a long time. He assisted in creating the doctrine of the early church. He did this by his study and writing. When Ambrose was a child, bees swarmed around his head so later on, people used bees and honey symbolically to represent Ambrose. When he was older, he tried to avoid accepting being the new bishop of Milan. After he accepted being the new bishop, he gave up everything he had and started to study Scripture. I love the early church fathers. These three were my favorite, but Ambrose is my favorite out of all of them.