Music is good for the soul

Music has saved my life more than once in the past. About 2 years ago I was at a point where I thought God didn't care about me and that he wasn't real. I was at an all time low and I kept debating. Relient K was my favorite band at the time and their music was full of Godly praises but I thought 'How can I listen to this music if I don't believe in God?' I didn't want to give up my favoirte band for a stupid decision. I listened to the songs like 'Getting into You', 'For the Moments I feel Faint', 'Over Thinking', and 'Wake up call' and thought how foolish I'd be to give eternal life. Songs like that made me think about how you can be at an all time low and God is there, you just have to ask for His help. You may think it's sad that music was the deciding factor of my faith then, but I'm thankful that God gave me it.What does your music Say about you? My music says that I love God and want to praise him. Music can define a person and music has the power to change the world if we let it. Music has also helped me through some tough times when I thought I couldn't make it. Music that praised God and spoke of how He saves you made me stronger. Bands like: Barlow Girl, Super Chic[k], Toby Mac, Stellar Kart, Run Kid Run, EleventySeven, Pillar, Sanctus Real, The Rocket Summer, Skillet, Relient K, and so many! They can be great to listen to but their songs can also help you to feel better. Maybe you should pick up one of their albums, I hope they can help you like they helped me.

There's room for you!

A whole bunch of people think that Heaven is completely bogus and that there's no room for such a sinner there. But think about that Audio Adrenaline song 'Big House'. It's like that in John 14:2-3. Jesus said, "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may also be where I am." When Jesus died on the cross, he did it to save us. In him doing that, he made it that we didn't have to sacrifice lambs or doves or anything anymore. He was and is the perfect sacrificial lamb. All we have to do is ask Jesus to guide our lives and to accept Him as our savior because that's exactly what he is. When we become Christians, a place is prepared for us in Heaven. I don't know about you, but that sounds pretty nice. In the Bible it says that nothing can compare that it's better than any mind can concieve! So if you think about the nicest place in the world... IT'S BETTER. I don't know about you, but I'm not about to miss out on that. Jesus told us he'd come back and take us to our neato room that He prepared for us. Don't miss out on spending forever in paradise with the perfect person that had ever walked the earth. Not only did Jesus die for you, but he wants to give you this awesome place to stay. He's just that cool.

Once upon a time

Once upon a time, there were four best friends. Jane was the talkative one obsessed with boys; Anne was the tall graceful one who everyone loved; Jessica was the small smart one who could stand up for herself; Molly was fun loving and always a bit confused. The girls shared everything with each other from Jane's latest crush to Anne's beliefs. They were happy and nothing could be better. They exchanged gifts at Christmas, went to each others Birthdays and laughed until their sides hurt. They swore to be best friends forever, no matter where life took them. Summer rolled around and it was time for each girl to do their own thing for a while, Anne went to visit her friends in another state, Jane went to London, Jessica was staying home, and Molly had to visit her dad even though she wanted to stay. Reluctantly, Molly went and had the best time ever. She couldn't understand why she hadn't wanted to go. She wanted to stay with her dad because things were amazing there. Molly had really great friends back at her moms, but life at home was getting worse. She didn't want to have to leave her friends behind, but she thought that they would understand. She told Jane that she wanted to stay with her dad and they stopped talking. Molly was forced to go back to her mom's and leave everything she loved behind as summer memories. Each girl was starting a new school, and it was hard to stay in touch with each other. Molly saw Anne once, but it was awkward. Jessica called Molly once, but the plans they made fell through. Jane never answered her phone and it became that way with Anne and Jessica too.The friendship that had once been crumbled and brought tears. Molly had people that cared about her, but they were hundreds of miles away. Her mom wouldn't let her go back, she thought everything was fine and that Molly was happy. Her sisters seemed to be too. The girl went around wearing a mask because she was to scared to show her face, so scared of the tears. She was terrified of what might happen, because people kept leaving her. She prayed to God for his help, and she got stronger. But her story is still being written, she lives day-to-day with hope and fear and her faith that keeps her alive.

Well, it's what I believe.

War... it's a touchy subject to a lot of people, and some don't like to talk about it. I'm here to tell you though, that it's not just going to go away. So many people think it's retarded and useless, but I'm here to tell you that it is necessary. Without war, Nazi's would probably be controlling Europe, America wouldn't be so united, integration would have never happened, and America would not be the Land of the Free. The war today is to protect the nation we live in because prejudice is too high in society. It's to ensure that we can be safe! Granted the past has given way to prejudice now, but it's history. Countries don't like one another and part of it is from war, but it's suppose to happen. People fight over right and wrong everyday, good and evil. The bad in this world is the absence of all that is good. If you say that war in the past was okay and that the war that we're fighting now is wrong, then you're a hypocrite. War is ugly and bloody, but we're fighting for what we believe is right.

A little Advice

This is for the girls, please read it all.
We all know that 75% of the time, it seems that most guys are really perverted. Don't you find yourself asking "Why are guys so perverted?" I know I do ALL the time. Part of it is from the media, but us girls play a big part in it too. Most of us think we dress and act perfectly fine and that we're all that a million half caf double mocha lattes. But did you ever think that how you dress and act gives way to guys being so perverted? Sometimes they can't help it, they just happen to be pretty visual. Sometimes it's not easy for them to keep their minds out of the gutter because of what girls wear. A lot of girls dress half-dressed, wearing things that make other girls blush! Don't you wish some guys would treat you with more respect?It's hardly fair of girls to make guys have to take cold showers all the time. A t-shirt from Stand-True Ministries says "Modesty Honors Beauty" and I totally believe that. Beauty should come from who you are inside. I know that it's really dark in squishy in there, but I'm talking metaphorically. And you probably hear that all the time, but it's true. Do you want a guy to like you because you have big boobs or because you have an awesome personality? I'm going out on a limb here and thinking you want them to like you for your personality? Matthew5:8 says "Blessed are the pure at heart, For they shall see God." Girls, you make it hard for guys to stay pure at heart when you advertising what your momma gave you. Take my advice, cover everything up you don't want your great great grandma seeind and you'll be good. Respect guys and keep their minds out of the gutter. Please don't dress and act in ways that are going to make them stumble.

Your awesome sister in Christ,
Emily

No excuses for a chosen people

Throughout history and nowadays, many Christians are discouraged because they think they're not worthy of God. The truth is, we're not. Not even close to being worthy, in fact. But here's a little tidbit of coolness: "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" -1 Peter 2:9. Basically, we are God's people and he wants us to turn our lives over to him. John 3:16 says this, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that everyone who believes in Him should perish but have everlasting life." It's for real, God loves us that much and wants us to be happy and have eternal life. It's your choice, God doesn't want to make us into puppets. A lot of people are going to offer up excuses as to why they can't praise God or spread his word a lot like Moses and Jeremiah did at first. But if you put God in control, he's going to help you. He's not into leaving you a flopping fish on the banks of a river. Jeremiah 1:4-9 goes like this: "Then the word of the Lord came to me saying:
'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born a sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.' Then I said: 'Ah, Lord God! Behold I cannot speak, for I am a youth.' But the Lord said to me: 'Do not say, "I am a youth," For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do Not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you,' Says the Lord. Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: 'Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.'" You see, God is going to to help us to witness to others, he's not going to send you out without helping you! It doesn't matter how young you are at all! You're God's chosen people!!! "Get out and do what we were meant to do"-Super Chic[k]

Lets get rolling

Switchfoot one wrote in the song Meant to Live "We were meant to live for so much more. Have we lost ourselves?" That's exactly what I want you to think about. In this day and age, we're told to conform and be like everyone else because individuality isn't the norm. While we tell people to be individuals, we shove trends and idea's down each others throat. Many of us refuse to let anyone be different because it goes against the grain. So many people have lost themselves because they want to be liked by certain people, and they can't figure out who they are anymore. I'm asking you to swim upstream and to be your own person. You don't need to wear Hollister or dress all in black to have friends or to be liked. You need to show your true colors, and let people see who you really are.
"You were born an original, don't die a copy." - Some icon. What we were put on this earth for wasn't to degrade other people, but to help each other. There so much more to life than who Hillary Duff is going out with or the latest eating disorder. Do you want to look back on your life and see a life of good or a life of confusion and sorrow?

Warm and fuzzy feeling?

There are just some people in life that make you feel really happy even when you're feeling down. Maybe it's a friend or someone in your family, but they just make you smile and laugh. That one of my favorite things, when someone makes me smile after I've been crying or something. It somehow takes that horrible feeling away, even just for a little while. When someone tells you that they love you (and they really mean it), doesn't that make you feel good? You may tell people that you don't care if they care about you, but I think everyone acutally does care, even if a little bit. In fact, if no one else cared about you, Jesus would. Heck, he DIED for you. If that's not caring... I don't know what is. When you feel like giving up because everyone seems to have deserted you, remember that Jesus cares about you. Whoever you are, know that I care about you too. You're my brother or sister in Christ and you're flippin awesome. God made you for a reason, and if he didn't care, you wouldn't exist. He knew that you would make an impact on this world, big or small. Don't EVER think that no one would care if you were gone, because believe it or not, people would be devastated. Okay, if you ever buy one CD in your entire life, I think you should buy We Can't Stand Sitting Down by Stellar Kart. The third track is called "Me and Jesus", give it a listen. That CD helped me through some tough times when I got it, and maybe it will help you. Remember, you were created with care by God.

Dude, you have a cheerleader!

Open your bible, go ahead. Read the first thing you see and try to connect it to your life. It works for me, even if not for you. Bad example. I don't know if this works for everyone, poop. ANYWAY. I stumbled upon this little goodie when I flipped open to the book of Daniel. So this guy (Daniel...) is all like this in chapter 10:16-17 "And suddenly, one having the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke saying to him who stood before me, 'My lord, because of the vision my sorrows have overwhelmed me, and I have retained no strength. For how can this servant of the lord talk with you, my lord. As for me, no strength remains in me now, nor is any breathe left in me' " Honestly, that is one of the only verses I've read in Daniel, so I'm hazy on what's going on. You're totally might be thinking "Hypocrite" but oh well. ANYWAY. I think we all feel like the sometimes, like we're not worthy of anything. Especially not worthy of the grace which God has given us. We see things that make us so sad, and we just feel like poop about it. We beat ourselves up about everything! Verse 18-19 says this: "Then again, the one having the likeness of a man touched me and strengthened me. And he said 'O man greatly beloved, fear not! Peace be with you; be strong, yes, be strong!' " God is ALWAYS there. When we're feeling downright awful, he's there giving us encouragement. I know how it feels to want to give up, but God is like a cheerleader for us! Seriously, if you had someone following you around giving you encouragement, do you think you'd be more brave? It's how it goes when we turn our lives over to God. It's is so SPIFFY. So when you want to fall, be strong as God wants us to be.

And the lies just tumble out

Lying is the easiest thing to do. It gets you out of a tough situation. It hides your emotion. It makes your life seem OK. I realized earlier how easy it is to lie. My sister had yelled at me about something, and it just added to the pile of hurt on my heart. I just went to my room and cried and cried. I came out and my other sister asked me if I was okay, and I said that I was and that I was just tired. The moment I said it, I wished I could gobble those words back up. I want to tell people that I cry every night, but I don't want to be repeating the past. It's the same thing over and over. We just cover things up in lies, and sometimes we start to believe them. The truth gets buried in lies, and it's hard to find sometimes. Try to tell the truth, even if it hurts or if it seems inappropriate. The truth is always better, it sets things in the right direction even if it seems to mess things up at the moment. I have a t-shirt that says this: 'Truth is not Relative. Truth is Truth.' Think about it. I'm going to challenge myself and you not to lie for 24 hours. Think it sounds easy? Try it. It could be one of the hardest things you ever do.

Who am I?

I was watching One Tree Hill with Mandy just now, and it was an episode about the person you're defined as. A lot of us have a someone inside of us that we want to get out. Your guess is as good as mine. You have to take the mask you've been hiding behind off, in my opinion. Let everyone see the person you really are! I know that sometimes it's hard to figure that out, it took me years, but you have to define yourself. Some people are going to label you, and you have to take that label off and put your own title on yourself. Each person has a mix of ingredients, if you will. Maybe you're quirky, geeky, a jock, popular, or a loner. Who do you want people to see? Some outer shell or what's on the inside.

Idk... maybe it's good. Maybe it's horrible

Light a fire and watch my heart glow
If you never jump, you'll never know
Up a slippery slope is my chosen way
I might fall more than once, maybe twice in a day
When I fall, there will be a hand to hold
"It'll all work out" is what I'll be told
Even when I want to lay down and die
As my heart heaves each time I cry
I know I'll eventually be happy again
I only wish I could tell you when
But a fire is lit, it makes my heart glow
If I dare to jump, I'll finally know