Let me preface this by saying that some of the wisest things I've ever heard have come out of Bret Carter's mouth. If you don't know Bret Carter... I'm sorry. Poor you. Anyways, during a session at Kamp once, we were all as a group talking about relationships, and he said, "so many people say 'Oh, I was only half a person until I met them.' Why not bring two complete people to a relationship?"
Woah. Who wants to be half a person?
Right now, I'm single, and I'm a complete person. My worth is not in a guy. My worth is in my relationship with God, my personality, my friends, my talents, in what God has given me. Who am I to say that God hasn't given me enough? That I'm not completely satisfied yet? Do I really have the audacity to say that I'm only half a person until I find a guy?
Would it be nice to have one? Absolutely. Is it wrong to want to find someone? No. There's nothing wrong with relationships. But do I NEED one? Is it essential to my survival? Am I only half a person 'til I have one? No.
I am one, complete, wholly me person. Looking for one, complete, wholly him person.
"I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." -Philippians 4:12-13
<3
Monday, September 27, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Apathy
"A young preacher stood sobbing as he overlooked a city street filled with throngs of people. An older preacher asked him, 'Young man, why are you crying?'
'Look at those people-- there are thousands of them, and they're all lost!'
The older man consoled him, 'Don't worry... you'll get over it.'
'I know,' the young man said, 'that's why I'm crying.'"
Apathy. Don't let it get you.
'Look at those people-- there are thousands of them, and they're all lost!'
The older man consoled him, 'Don't worry... you'll get over it.'
'I know,' the young man said, 'that's why I'm crying.'"
Apathy. Don't let it get you.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
PARAMORE!!!!!!!!!
The power of music has always gotten me, but maybe never so much as it did Monday night. Nine THOUSAND plus people came to Red Rocks Amphitheather to see Paramore play... And I was one of them.
I don't think there's any other force (outside the church) so binding as music. Monday night there were thousands of voices singing the same lyrics, lyrics that only one person there actually wrote. But the very nature of music is to be relatable. Hayley herself talked about it... "There's not a song you can listen to that doesn't fit your situation. Sad times, happy times, victories... Music supports us." And it's so true. Every single song Paramore played carried a different meaning for me. Not one of them was "just a song"-- memories and emotions went with every last one. And they probably meant something different to my best friend (who came with me... Thanks lovely! <3) but we were all singing the same words. Something inside us connected us all. And that's incredibly cool to me. Ok, music geek out over. >
Here's what they played. (I tried to get the exact order, but I'm not sure on a few of them.)
- Ignorance
- Feeling Sorry
-For a Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic
-Playing God
-That's What You Get
-Decode
-You Ain't Woman Enough to Take My Man
-When It Rains
-Misguided Ghosts
-Where The Lines Overlap
-Crushcrushcrush
-Looking Up
-Pressure
-The Only Exception
-Brick By Boring Brick
-Misery Business
Here's my list of highlights at the concert (chronologically):
1. New Found Glory opening!! I'm a recent addition to the New Found Glory fan base and actually getting to see them play was awesome. They're great live. My favorite was their cover of "Kiss Me"... Yes, the girlie Sixpence None the Richer song. Now imagine a punk band playing that. I was so happy. Also, the "BUY OUR SHIRT" thing was great.
8. The red All We Know Is Falling couch!! I don't know if it's even the couch that was on the cover of the CD or not, but I geeked out over it anyways.
9. Acoustic song time-- I really liked the acousticky version of "Where the Lines Overlap."
1. New Found Glory opening!! I'm a recent addition to the New Found Glory fan base and actually getting to see them play was awesome. They're great live. My favorite was their cover of "Kiss Me"... Yes, the girlie Sixpence None the Richer song. Now imagine a punk band playing that. I was so happy. Also, the "BUY OUR SHIRT" thing was great.2. The light shining through the curtain at the beginning so you could see all of Paramore's shadows. Epic. I wish I'd gotten a good picture.
3. The shock of sound wave that runs through you whenever there's music playing. You feel like your heart's pumping with the music and you can't even hear yourself screaming the words but you just don't care. It's glorious.
4. Hayley Williams is redhead again. The weird blonde period was sad. Obnoxiously bright red hair is her trademark! And it's a good thing, too, 'cause otherwise you probably wouldn't be able to see her in most of my pictures.
5. The funky bare lightbulbs hanging from the stage rafters. I just thought they were cool.
6. Unlike most bands, Paramore is awesome live. Awesome isn't even a good enough word. They're incredible live.
7. The cover of Loretta Lynn's "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)"-- Hayley definitely could have had a career in country music. I, however, am glad she's in a rock band, because otherwise my best friend wouldn't have been there with me, and she made the night awesome.
9. Acoustic song time-- I really liked the acousticky version of "Where the Lines Overlap."10. Hayley's humor... she's hilarious! "This is the part of the show where the people who are sitting... stand. And you know how I know that they stand? I tell them too. There was a time for sitting, we had that moment... that moment is over." :)
11. Josh Farro... and his good-lookingness and lead guitar-ness... 'nuff said. Not that you can tell in this picture... but take my word for it. :) (By the way, sorry the picture quality isn't great. Not bad for 14th row, though.)
12. Again, the lyrics. Paramore has some fantastically relatable lyrics. And I love them. And I love screaming them at the top of my voice. :)
13. "The Only Exception"... Is there a more incredible site than 8000+ lighters and cell phones waving in the air at Red Rocks Amphitheater? It's definitely up there. And the song means a lot to me because I sang it at the talent show at my church Kamp with Holly.
14. The fact that I was singing with Hayley Williams. I mean, I wasn't up on stage or anything, but I wasn't singing with a CD. I was singing the same words, at the same time, as Hayley Williams in the flesh. Yeah, I'm a nerd about these things. Months before the concert I ran and stood on the stage and went "Hayley Williams is going to stand right here!!!"
15. Hayley saying that they'd been waiting to play Red Rocks since before they started playing shows... maybe that's just catering to the present crowd, I don't know, but I'd like to think she was sincere. She seems like a really cool person.
16. 9000+ people chanting "Paramore!" And them coming back for an amazing encore.
17. Hayley being carried away in style...
People who love what they do and have fun doing it. No doubt. :)
"The world doesn't need another band... but what a waste it would have been." <3
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Feeling Sorry-- Paramore
I'm convinced Hayley Williams and I are kindred spirits. The songs about somebody who refuses to be happy... And how she's telling him (I always assumed it was a him) to get out of his little box and move on with life. For the most part, a person's happiness or unhappiness depends purely upon their decision to be happy or unhappy. And while I'm getting off my soapbox, I'll mention that as I'm going to a Paramore concert in the near future, I felt Paramore lyrics to be appropriate. :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We still live in the same town, well don't we?
But I don't see you around anymore.
I go to all the same places, not even a trace of you.
Your days are numbered at twenty-four.
And I'm getting bored waiting 'round for you--
You're not getting any younger
And time keeps passing by but you faded away.
It's time to roll over.
And I feel no sympathy.
You live inside a cave.
You barely get by, the rest of us are tryin'.
There's no need to apologize, I've got no time for feeling sorry.
I try not to think of what might happen
When your reality, it finally comes through.
Well, as for me, I got out and I'm on the road,
And the worst part is that this, this could be you.
You know it too.
You can't run from your shame.
You're not getting any younger,
And I won't look back 'cause there's no use.
It's time to move forward.
And I feel no sympathy.
You live inside a cave.
You barely get by, the rest of us are tryin'.
There's no need to apologize, I've got no time for feeling sorry.
And all the best lies, they are told with fingers tied
So cross 'em tight.
Won't you promise me tonight
If it's the last thing you'll do you'll get out.
I feel no sympathy.
You live inside a cave.
You barely get by, the rest of us are tryin'.
There's no need to apologize, I've got no time, I've got no time!
I feel no sympathy.
You live inside a cave.
You barely get by, the rest of us are tryin'.
No need to apologize, I've got no time.
I've got no time for feeling sorry.
I've got no time for feeling sorry.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We still live in the same town, well don't we?
But I don't see you around anymore.
I go to all the same places, not even a trace of you.
Your days are numbered at twenty-four.
And I'm getting bored waiting 'round for you--
You're not getting any younger
And time keeps passing by but you faded away.
It's time to roll over.
And I feel no sympathy.
You live inside a cave.
You barely get by, the rest of us are tryin'.
There's no need to apologize, I've got no time for feeling sorry.
I try not to think of what might happen
When your reality, it finally comes through.
Well, as for me, I got out and I'm on the road,
And the worst part is that this, this could be you.
You know it too.
You can't run from your shame.
You're not getting any younger,
And I won't look back 'cause there's no use.
It's time to move forward.
And I feel no sympathy.
You live inside a cave.
You barely get by, the rest of us are tryin'.
There's no need to apologize, I've got no time for feeling sorry.
And all the best lies, they are told with fingers tied
So cross 'em tight.
Won't you promise me tonight
If it's the last thing you'll do you'll get out.
I feel no sympathy.
You live inside a cave.
You barely get by, the rest of us are tryin'.
There's no need to apologize, I've got no time, I've got no time!
I feel no sympathy.
You live inside a cave.
You barely get by, the rest of us are tryin'.
No need to apologize, I've got no time.
I've got no time for feeling sorry.
I've got no time for feeling sorry.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
9/11/01...
... Where were you?
I honestly don't remember much about September 11, 2001. I was in second grade. I remember the school sending me home early, and I knew something bad was going on, but I don't think I really understood what was happening. I don't remember watching it on the news, seeing footage, anything. Later, of course, I understood the significance, but it never really hit me until yesterday.
We watched a video at the end of history class yesterday. I don't know what it was called, or I would post a link to it. Somehow, never in the last nine years have I seen actual footage of 9/11... until yesterday. I thought I wasn't going to cry until it came to footage of one of the towers juxtaposed with a man from the inside talking to an official outside.
"Are you alright?" the official says in a stressed voice."
"Yeah, we're on the tenth floor. There's three of us and two broken windows."
And before he can say anything else, you see the building collapsing. And hear him screaming. And that's when I lost it.
It got worse when they showed pictures of the people jumping. What would possess someone to jump from a ONE HUNDRED AND TEN story building? Fear. Knowing that the alternative was burning to death.
And then there was footage of the first plane hitting the towers. The inferno that came behind it as it crashed through the buildings. And you realize there were people on that plane, and people in that building. It's horrifying. There's not a better word for it. 9/11/01 inspired exactly what the attackers hoped to inflict upon the American people: terror.
As we were walking out of class, one of my friends, very quietly, through tears, said, "I knew nine people."
My history teacher had a relative that was a firefighter. His family buried an ax, because that was all they could find of him.
I don't know anyone who was killed that day, but I can feel at least a little bit of the pain. We all value human life, even if that life has no ties to us. We all feel the horror and pain that comes with immense tragedy. We all feel the loss of the over THREE THOUSAND people we lost that day.
This isn't just another day, and I beg you not to think of it as such. Nine years ago today, our country, perhaps even our world, changed forever. My brother was a toddler. He can't remember life before the War on Terror, and I just barely can. I was watching that footage and thinking, that's the worst. That's what men and women are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan to keep from happening to me. And you. And our families. Our friends. They're going through hell on earth to make sure you and I don't have to.
Take the time to thank a soldier today.
At 8:40 a.m., September 11, 2001 was a normal day. By 8:45a.m., it was too late for many to say goodbye.
Take the time to tell the people in your life how much you love them. Take the time to tell somebody about Christ. Take the time to ask forgiveness... or give it. Take the time to get down on your knees and THANK GOD for everything that you have.
Tomorrow's not promised.
Never forget.
I honestly don't remember much about September 11, 2001. I was in second grade. I remember the school sending me home early, and I knew something bad was going on, but I don't think I really understood what was happening. I don't remember watching it on the news, seeing footage, anything. Later, of course, I understood the significance, but it never really hit me until yesterday.
We watched a video at the end of history class yesterday. I don't know what it was called, or I would post a link to it. Somehow, never in the last nine years have I seen actual footage of 9/11... until yesterday. I thought I wasn't going to cry until it came to footage of one of the towers juxtaposed with a man from the inside talking to an official outside.
"Are you alright?" the official says in a stressed voice."
"Yeah, we're on the tenth floor. There's three of us and two broken windows."
And before he can say anything else, you see the building collapsing. And hear him screaming. And that's when I lost it.
It got worse when they showed pictures of the people jumping. What would possess someone to jump from a ONE HUNDRED AND TEN story building? Fear. Knowing that the alternative was burning to death.
And then there was footage of the first plane hitting the towers. The inferno that came behind it as it crashed through the buildings. And you realize there were people on that plane, and people in that building. It's horrifying. There's not a better word for it. 9/11/01 inspired exactly what the attackers hoped to inflict upon the American people: terror.
As we were walking out of class, one of my friends, very quietly, through tears, said, "I knew nine people."
My history teacher had a relative that was a firefighter. His family buried an ax, because that was all they could find of him.
I don't know anyone who was killed that day, but I can feel at least a little bit of the pain. We all value human life, even if that life has no ties to us. We all feel the horror and pain that comes with immense tragedy. We all feel the loss of the over THREE THOUSAND people we lost that day.
This isn't just another day, and I beg you not to think of it as such. Nine years ago today, our country, perhaps even our world, changed forever. My brother was a toddler. He can't remember life before the War on Terror, and I just barely can. I was watching that footage and thinking, that's the worst. That's what men and women are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan to keep from happening to me. And you. And our families. Our friends. They're going through hell on earth to make sure you and I don't have to.
Take the time to thank a soldier today.
At 8:40 a.m., September 11, 2001 was a normal day. By 8:45a.m., it was too late for many to say goodbye.
Take the time to tell the people in your life how much you love them. Take the time to tell somebody about Christ. Take the time to ask forgiveness... or give it. Take the time to get down on your knees and THANK GOD for everything that you have.
Tomorrow's not promised.
Never forget.
Monday, September 6, 2010
This weekend, I learned that...
1. Stingrays look really funny from the underside.
2. Mermaids are real... at least at the aquarium.
3. I am a menu item.
4. Swedish Fish earrings can indeed be the sweetest present ever.
5. I will never be able to watch a Shia LeBeouf movie without thinking of Louis Stevens.
6. Friends let friends cuddle with them.
7. Not many things can get me up in the morning... But the smell of bacon can.
8. Colin takes phone calls.
9. When you have 8 kids, having two more kids over (one unexpectedly) doesn't phase you in the slightest.
10. Panicked cartoon people flail their arms around.
11. Writing an essay at a friend's house results in neon rainbow toes.
12. Fred loves his flashlight.
13. Every once in a while Batman decides not to wear his tights for a few minutes.
14. You have to say goodnight to your best friend at least three times before you'll actually go to sleep.
15. Burnt hotdogs are better.
16. Hot Topic sells Mockingjay pins. But they're filthy expensive.
17. Claire's has the best friendship necklaces.
18. Buzz and Woody t-shirts do not come in my size. :(
19. The DC in DC Comics stands for Detective Comics. So it's Detective Comics Comics.
20. Batman/Robin and Spiderman posters are the bomb.
21. My dad does NOT look fifty. (Happy Birthday Daddy!!)
22. You can't beat a weekend with your best friends and family. :)
<3
2. Mermaids are real... at least at the aquarium.
3. I am a menu item.
4. Swedish Fish earrings can indeed be the sweetest present ever.
5. I will never be able to watch a Shia LeBeouf movie without thinking of Louis Stevens.
6. Friends let friends cuddle with them.
7. Not many things can get me up in the morning... But the smell of bacon can.
8. Colin takes phone calls.
9. When you have 8 kids, having two more kids over (one unexpectedly) doesn't phase you in the slightest.
10. Panicked cartoon people flail their arms around.
11. Writing an essay at a friend's house results in neon rainbow toes.
12. Fred loves his flashlight.
13. Every once in a while Batman decides not to wear his tights for a few minutes.
14. You have to say goodnight to your best friend at least three times before you'll actually go to sleep.
15. Burnt hotdogs are better.
16. Hot Topic sells Mockingjay pins. But they're filthy expensive.
17. Claire's has the best friendship necklaces.
18. Buzz and Woody t-shirts do not come in my size. :(
19. The DC in DC Comics stands for Detective Comics. So it's Detective Comics Comics.
20. Batman/Robin and Spiderman posters are the bomb.
21. My dad does NOT look fifty. (Happy Birthday Daddy!!)
22. You can't beat a weekend with your best friends and family. :)
<3
Thursday, September 2, 2010
"Fire and Ice" by Robert Frost
If you don't already know, you'll figure out soon enough that I'm a poetry fanatic. I read poetry, I write poetry, I love poetry. I was flipping through my school English book today and came across this. Robert Frost was one of my favorite poets to begin with, but this just blew me away. At the risk of being completely cliche, it spoke to me. So yeah. Enjoy his poetic genius. :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
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