A New Year!!!

Today is the last day of December, and also 2008. Think of it. This day. It's the last time you'll be living it. 2008 will be gone, and in comes 2009. A bit scary, isn't it? So many things will happen. If you're in school you will move up a grade in the fall, you are going to have another birthday, and the holidays will come around again.

The new year is like a fresh start, though. People make resolutions. Kids determine to be better in school or a teensy bit nicer to their little siblings, and adults decide to lose weight or be better in their jobs. In only a little bit of time, all is forgotten and people don't abide by their resolution rules. Well, I've decided that this year is TOTALLY going to be different for me. I've made two resolutions that I'm going to keep. As a...motivation I'll post them on here so I won't forget.

1. Read the whole entire Bible in a year. (I've done it before, but I never really soaked it in. Hopefully I'll be able to do it this year!)

2. Finish my book, The Chosen (that's the working title as of now). I'm at the final climax as of now, but there's a LOT of editing to do.

So what is/are your resolution(s)? Are you determined to keep them this year?

God Bless,

Amazing Song- "No Greater Love" by Steven Curtis Chapman

I just discovered this amazing song yesterday. It has such a great message. Out of all the songs I have posted so far on my blog, this is definitely the one that I want ya'll to see the most. It just touched my heart. Here is the note from the person who posted this video on youtube:

"Jim Elliot, Ed McCully, Pete Fleming, Nate Saint, and Roger Youderian, the crew of N5156H, flew to Ecuador to take the gospel to the Waodani people. When they were killed, Elisabeth Elliot (Jim's widow) went back and led them to the Lord.

Steven Curtis Chapman wrote this song as a tribute to these events, and the man chanting at the end was responsible for the deaths of two of the men of the mission team. Proof that God's grace is more powerful than any sin!"

and here is a note from Steven Curtis Chapman about his song:

""Through Gates of Splendor by Elizabeth Elliot is a book that really impacted me and challenges me in any ways. It’s the story of Jim Elliott and Nate Saint and the five missionaries who went to Ecuador in the fifties and were martyred by the tribe known at the time as the Acuas. In the process of writing ‘No Greater Love’ some things happened that resurfaced this story again in my life. I found Steve Saint on the internet. He is the son of slain missionary Nate Saint. I found that he was writing some stories about working with the Waodanis (pronounced woo-donnie), the people who were formerly known as the Acuas. I discovered he was in America with a member of the Waodani tribe named Mincay (pronounced men-kai). Mincay is one of the six men who killed his father, Nate Saint. He was here in America speaking in his native tongue about the redeeming power of forgiveness and God’s love and God’s grace. I thought this is too good to be true. I couldn’t believe this was really happening. Steve Saint and Mincay came to my studio and he sang for me of God’s forgiveness and God’s mercy and God’s grace and of his journey of coming to know the maker and becoming a God follower. I had this idea and dream of actually having Mincay sing with me on this album. That dream became a reality. God let that happen. It’s an amazing thing. You hear him chanting at the end of 'No Greater Love.'"

Amazing, isn't it? I love the power of the music and the lyrics. At first, I didn't know what the chanting at the end was all about, so I looked into it further and found out that one of the very men who had killed these missionaries, Mincay, is the person who chants at the end. The translation is in the video.

A quick note, be sure to switch off the playlist on the right before watching this video. I just made that mistake *sheepish grin*

No Greater Love
by Steven Curtis Chapman

Men of courage with your message of peace
What is that look in your eyes?
Why have you come to this faraway place?
What is this story you would lay down your live to tell?
What kind of love can this be?

Chorus
There is no greater love than this
There is no greater gift that can ever be given
To be willing to die so another might live
There is no greater love than this

Broken hearted from all you have lost
How can you sing through your tears?
What is this music that can bear such a cost?
What is this fire that grows stronger against the wind?
What kind of flame can this be?

Chorus

This is the love God showed the world
When he gave us His Son
So we can know his love forever
Beyond the Gates of Splendor

Chorus

God Bless,

2008 was great, but 2009 is...is...

Is what? I mean, I remember from last year that people were saying things like "2007 was heaven, but 2008 is going to be great!" or something like that. Doesn't 2009 deserve to come in with style too?

WARNING: THIS IS REALLY, REALLY RANDOM!!!

Now with all of the formalities out of the way, the only things I could think of were:

2008 was great, but 2009 is gonna rhyme! (Well, the "2008 is great" part rhymed, so there's not much point. Plus, how could a year rhyme? *shakes head*)

2008 was great, but 2009 is gonna be a lime! (Uhhhh, does this mean 2009 is going to be sour?)

2008 was great, but 2009 is gonna be a dime! (*blinks* What?)

2008 was great, but 2009 is going to be...going to be...sublime? (Uhhhh.....nope. Didn't rhyme!)

2008 was great, but 2009 is going to be...MINE! (MWAHAHAHA! *coughs* Nu-uh)

2008 was great, but 2009 is going to be divine! (Uh, I'm not sure)

Alright, I'm all out of ideas! Does anyone else have an idea?

It's so hard to believe that a new year is upon us! *screams and panics*
Well, I have a lot planned for 2009 including more book reviews, a monthly fiction article, and a monthly article about hot topics. But I will take this day to reminisce on all of the amazing things that have happened to me this great year.

1. I started this blog and became GoMC!!!! Awesomeness, yeah? Next June will be my first anniversary! *sniffs sentimentally* Can you believe it? I've been asked about this blog's title, A Girl of Many Colors. several times. Where'd it come from? Several theories include Joseph's coat of many colors and the horse of a different color (from the Wizard of Oz which I hadn't seen until this year). To tell ya'll the truth, I just randomly thought of it one day, and it stuck!

2. I joined the Dragons in Our Midst by Bryan Davis forum and became DoT! (Daughter of Thigocia) And yes, the whole "Dot" thing was planned. It was either Daughter of Thigocia or Daughter of Makaidos. DoM didn't sound as cool and DoT, so I became DoT! If you are on the forum, or are going to join, feel free to stop by and say hi!!!

3. I got a little sister!!! Though we won't meet her until next year, I feel like I'm already hers!

4. I got 100,000 words in my book! (Part one of a four book series) Though I am not completely sure when I started (Bad record keeping skills) I am 90% sure I started the book I have now in this year. (There were about 5 rough ideas until the final one showed through! Again, my bad record keeping skills kicked in and I threw most of the rough drafts away)

5. I got to ride a horse for real for the first time this year at a church picnic! And, if ya'll remember my post, it was REALLY a real ride for my sister and I! Thanks so much to the Phantom Stallion series (which I will be introducing to you in the near future) my mind flashed to one of the book's scenes and I hung on instead of jumping of the galloping horse. Thanks so much to the people at the church picnic who were fast thinkers and immediately started praying since they could do nothing else to stop the horse. And thanks so much to God for protecting my sister when she was thrown off of the horse and myself! God's amazing, and he is SO real!
Remember that one post when I said I'd be riding a horse at the one person's place who owned the horse at the picnic? Well, it didn't exactly work out due to bad weather. Hopefully, as soon as it gets warmer in the spring, I'll mount up.

6. I had a big birthday this year!

7. I got a black belt in Tae Kwon Do this year with a struggle involving an evil energy drink. Again, blogged on it if you want to read about my interesting encounter with (Du Du Dun!) The Blue Demon!

8. I got baptized by my dad this year!

9. I started exploring the world of writing for real this year, and I definitely DON'T regret it!

10. I've learned more about the computer than I ever did before! Tech savvy, I guess you could call it!

So, what amazing things happened to YOU (Yes, YOU!) in 2008?

God Bless,


(P.S. Like my new siggie???)

Merry Christmas Ya'll!!!!!!!!!

Isn't she ADORABLE? This is a picture we took of my little cutie, Belle, in front of our Christmas tree.

I look back today at the wonderful Christmas we had this year. This year we kept it simple. Not overboard in presents, just enjoying the company of each other. We spent most of the day just talking and laughing. No hustle and bustle of rushing around to parties or cleaning up the toy packaging (If you've heard "Toy Packaging" by Sarah Groves you know what I mean ;D)

My dad and I were able to finish a 550 piece puzzle given to me by a friend with the every now and then assistance from my mom (Unfortunately, my sister wasn't feeling very well, and she has a cold now. Bummer, right? I feel so sorry for her)It was amazing. A puzzle? Amazing? Well, I don't VERY often get to just sit down and have some fun with my dad, so it was one of the best Christmas presents I could dream up. We just talked about the puzzle, and not much else. But he was talking about how much patience I had to do it and how good I was at puzzles, and if ya'll know, getting a compliment from someone makes one blush, but getting a compliment from a family member make one just glow, even if it was about something small like a puzzle.

Pretty much a non-materialistic Christmas. I've got to say that it was the best one I've ever had. Anyway, I have everything I need, right?

So, from our home to yours, have a very Merry Christmas. May your lives be filled with the peace and joy of our Savior's birth as you spend time with your family and friends.

May God Bless You This Wonderful Day,
and Belle

Fiction Fix

I've put up a poll asking if you would like to see a monthly fiction article staring in 2009. It will be just random short stories with Christian values. They most likely will not be in any order or have anything to do with each other. But they will have to do with the time of year or holiday if applicable. Please feel free to vote on what you want. You can even say no! I will not know who you are and all that stuff, so saying no will be fine. After all, you will be the one reading it!

So why am I doing this? Why is GoMC telling you about this new insane idea she has?
There are several reasons, actually. But I'll just state two.

~I'd like to get more experience writing. Limiting myself to a certain amount of words and making it meaningful yet compact is something I struggle with. I'm working on a full blown book (Now 98,000 or so words as of today) so I don't get much in the way of short stories except for school assignments and other miscellaneous reasons. If you give your consent to start doing this, I'll ask for you to comment on errors, both grammatical ones and theological ones.

~I find that I read fiction more than nonfiction, and it's generally the same with kids and teens. We read more fiction. Our eyes and ears are like the gateway to the brain and we like expanding our imaginations. So, reading clean stuff with a good message is hard to do nowadays since there aren't many clean books. (It's been sort of hard finding a completely clean book in the library and popular bookstores nowadays. Even some Christian bookstores have been displaying some inappropriate books that don't even mention Christianity, or true Christianity.)
So, clean fiction is something I would like to read, and I hope you would like it too.

God Bless,

Lemonade, anyone?

Thank you, Lauren Ann for giving me this award! This is a blog award called THE LEMONADE REWARD. I never even know about these blog award thingies! Anyways,

"THE LEMONADE AWARD: The concept behind this award is that the blog creators have shown an uncanny knack for silver linings and making the best of bad situations (i.e., lemonade from lemons)."

Rules: Name blogs that reflect this silver linings philosophy.

Goshness! So many! Okay peoples, this is in no particular order. If I could, you all would be number one!

1. Bookworm4god (Bookie-kins)
2. Twin4god
3. Sarah
4. Araken
5. Zoe
6. Paris

Congrats!

I'll see you on Monday with a new post! Only FIVE days until Christmas! Can you believe it? This year has totally gone by really fast!

God Bless,

Christmas Quiz

Hmmm.....Interesting. I'm not so sure my family would agree with this! ;)

You Are an Angel

A truly giving soul, you understand the spirit of Christmas.

What Christmas Ornament Are You?

God Bless,

Jesus, Take the Wheel by Carrie Underwood

Okay, I'm not into country music, and you can probably tell from my playlist. But as I was flipping through some channels today, I stopped on Country Music Channel and saw the music video by Carrie Underwood. I've only heard a little bit of it before, but it's so cool. So, here it is! :D

Jesus Take The Wheel
Carrie Underwood

She was driving last Friday on her way to Cincinnati
On a snow white Christmas Eve
Going home to see her Mama and her Daddy with the baby in the backseat
Fifty miles to go and she was running low on faith and gasoline
It'd been a long hard year
She had a lot on her mind and she didn't pay attention
she was going way too fast
Before she knew it she was spinning on a thin black sheet of glass
She saw both their lives flash before her eyes
She didn't even have time to cry
She was so scared
She threw her hands up in the air

Jesus take the wheel
Take it from my hands
Cause I can't do this on my own
I'm letting it go
So give me one more chance
To save me from this road I'm on
Jesus take the wheel

It was still getting colder when she made it to the shoulder
And the car came to a stop
She cried when she saw that baby in the backseat sleeping like a rock
And for the first time in a long time
She bowed her head to pray
She said I'm sorry for the way
I've been living my life
I know I've got to change
So from now on tonight

Jesus take the wheel
Take it from my hands
Cause I can't do this on my own
I'm letting go
So give me one more chance
To save me from this road I'm on

Oh, Jesus take the wheel
Oh, I'm letting go
So give me one more chance
Save me from this road I'm on
From this road I'm on
Jesus take the wheel
Oh, take it, take it from me
Oh, why, oh

God Bless,

Adoption Status II

It's the one year anniversary of our adoption journey!

Though the longing to adopt a sibling began for me when the tsunami hit India and surrounding countries a while back, it started for my parents long before that. I can still recall going to a homeschool convention and getting a flier from an adoption agency. Soon it ended up in a box headed for the trash, but again and again I saved it to put in places where my parents could see it. On the living room table, near the computer, and sitting defiantly in different places for my parents to see. I remember vaguely one day my dad coming home from work and logging onto the computer. He showed us a story about a baby being abandoned in India. She had a beautiful face and big eyes. An orphan. The baby was an orphan at such a tender age. We fell in love with her. That night, I dreamed of holding her in my arms and singing songs to her as her big sister. My mom even called her relatives in India and some people who were taking care of her, to see if she was available for adoption. Unfortunately, she was not yet considered adoptable because they were looking for her relatives and if she were we could not adopt her because we are not Indian citizens, but that's what really sparked our interest in adopting.

Soon after that, we started seeing the word "adoption" everywhere! One day we were watching Gospel music channel, and it was a special about Steven Curtis Chapman. His daughter was the one who started their interest in adoption of girls from China, and when she did that, she was the around the age I was then! I remember turning to my mom and saying, "I'm not the only crazy one, mom!" Somehow we changed the channel to ABC. It was a commercial, but at the bottom right corner of the screen a little box appeared that said, "Log on to ABC for special about adoption" or something like that. Wow. That "A" word sure got around! And later, we were at church. A group of people came up and said that the church had started an adoption fund. They didn't know why exactly, but they felt called to help provide families with the resourced they needed to bring a child home. Around that time, the amazing journey began.

Now, as I have mentioned before, my family is adopting an adorable little girl from India. We have seen her video and are very thankful to be chosen as her forever family. So, here's an update on how it is going....

Just last week, we got an update that an official paper certifying that we were indeed the people to adopt her had been approved. We're hers!

Now, we have to wait for three things:

2 different court dates in India which we will not have to attend. The earliest we will be able to get those finished is early January because the court is on winter break.

And the receiving of her passport, which after that we will go pick her up!

God Bless,

Fundamental Creationist Beliefs

So in Biology class, I've been learning about the history of science and all of the different doctrines of the genesis of the world. It's a really great course, since I want to be prepared when those I know who don't agree with creationist doctrines question me and my beliefs. So, here are the things that we as Christians believe.

1. Man and nature of the creation are made by one rational, loving, and orderly God.

2. God is the creator of matter, but He is not matter; He is a spirit. There is more to the universe than simply matter and energy.

3. Man was created in part to search out and discover the ways of God in creation. He is to subdue the earth and have dominion over it.

4. As man seeks to subdue the earth, he can gain an understanding of many of the secrets God has placed in creation for the benefit of mankind and the glory of God.

- From Biology: God's Living Creation Third Edition copyright A Beka Book 2007

God Bless,

Whew! Am I exhausted!

So yesterday was a pretty hectic day. Yesterday, I had six semester exams. (Yeah, kinda just before Christmas break. Gotta love that, huh?) So here I was with my pen flying over a lot of pages trying to get as much done before piano lessons! I finished my geometry and violin exams, and then I went to piano with my mom and sister. It went pretty well, and I added two new things to my schedule/calender. One, my sister and I are going to play seasonal (and some nonseasonal ;D) music at our local mall, and two, I'm going to have a group piano lesson on the 22nd! Now, I have school on that day so I'll have to get up really early to finish everything! Why do I have school during Christmas break, you ask? Well, it's because we'll have to go to India maybe sometime during the school year to get my adorable little sister and we don't want to be behind in school. I'm definitely okay with that. :D

After that, my teacher and my mom surprised my sister and I by saying that they're going to have lunch together. So my mom dropped us off at our home, and I went back to working on those pesky piles of paper. (Liked my alliteration???) After I finished that off, I made lunch. (Oodles of noodles!) I didn't exactly get around to making noodles for myself, but I did get some of the food my mom brought home. Lo mien noodles and sweet and sour chicken!

Anyways, back on subject. My mom brings up going to this local place's open house. The place is sort of like a community college, but not quite. It offers half a day of AP and pre-AP classes that a highschooler can take. There were two places like that. They taught different subjects and they had open houses on the same day, same time! I chose to go to the BioMedical academy, because I'm interested in the medial field. When we're on our way there, my dad tells me we're also going to pay a visit to the Engineering academy. So we rush into the BioMedical center, and I'm freezing, so we were led into a huge lecture hall type of thing. They gave a informative yet compact summary of what went on there, and then we hastily went on a tour of the place. It was amazing! Diagrams of things everywhere and a lot of cool technology. I even saw a cat that was going to be dissected. Surprisingly, I didn't get grossed out. I loved the tour and the campus!

Next, we hastily went to the Engineering place. (But we didn't speed, promise!) We got there and went on a tour. It was amazing, I have to admit. Amazing computer programs and the robots were something else. It was so cool, but a little bit intimidating. We spoke with several teachers and the counselor, who was really nice. Something that kind of freaked me out was that they were asking stuff like, "What type of engineer do you want to be?" or "What got you interested in engineering?" You see, I was prepared to answer those questions for the BioScience place, but not the engineering academy! I'm really not even too sure what I want to be when I'm older. I just know that I want it to be in the medical field, since I love learning how amazing God made the human body. One person there said that engineers are more likely to be picked to be accepted into my local medical college. That's what confused me. Is it true? I don't know. Hopefully I'll find out!

So now I have to choose where I'm going to go, the BioScience campus or the Engineering academy. I really like the BioScience a lot, but if engineering will help me get into med school...?
Please pray for me and my parents and we make our decision. The application for joining the academy should be given as soon as possible, so we're sort of rushed.


God Bless,

Love Thy Enemies!

I have been learning more about loving those who are doing something you don't like or people who are you enemies. You've heard about "turning the other cheek" and not hating those who oppress you ( a fancy word for harassing). So...what are you supposed to do when people throw you out like yesterday's trash?

Step #1: Forgive them.
Step #2: Pray for them.

Short, but unfortunately not always simple!

~Angelina has been wounded before by tongue-lashings and unthoughtful remarks. She has no idea where to turn or what to do.
~Many times Rachel is purposely ignored by those she thought loved her. She becomes bitter and angry with a "I hate everything" attitude.
~It's hard to get Jake's attitudes and emotions under control when his "friends" decide to get a good laugh over his mistakes or tiny blunders, even tripping in the hall.
~ Grant is so sick and tired of his classmates making fun at him for his beliefs about God and his decision to remain pure until marriage.

Sometimes they just want to pop the other person's bubble of superiority, want to punch them so hard that they'll see stars, or sit in a dark corner and have a pity party. It's really hard when someone rains on our parade. We just want to get rid of them no matter how.

The thing is, we should forgive them. Remember when Jesus was on the cross? People mocked and spat on him. They whipped him. Even his close friends denied him or ran away and didn't stick to him when they were needed the most. But what did Jesus pray? He prayed that God would forgive them! When I read the Bible and see what my Savior went through, my troubles seem so very tiny. I know how it feels. It's really hard to forgive. Trust me, I've been going through several situations like that lately. But if Jesus forgave those who did terrible things, should I not do the same?

Pray for them. That seems so hard, doesn't it? You'd rather see them hit by a lightning bolt than praying for them. But as I showed in the above paragraph, Jesus prayed for those who were doing a terrible act against him. He loved them, though they were cruel.

We should be polite and have a Christ-like attitude to those who offend us. Correct them in brotherly love if need be, but don't try to to pour more gasoline on a burning flame. Being mean right back never fixes anything. If whatever your situation is, gets worse, talk to your parent or a Christian adult that you trust and know will not lead you astray.

Just two steps.
Forgive...
Pray...

"Sweet Revenge"
by BarlowGirl

Did you see that I was hurt?
Did you know that you had left me crying there?
Now I'm holding all you words close till you feel this pain too
But you live on so unaware
While I thought somehow this hate would heal me
But this hate is never ending and it's only killing me
Oh sweet revenge you've lied again
I find I can't get free till I release this vengeance that I seek
Forgive you the only thing I want to live I'm ready to be free
Maybe you've been wounded too
Maybe all this is your self protection
All the hurts you thought were hidden
Are the one now hurting me
So who will make the pattern end?
I find I can't get free till I release this vengeance that I seek
Forgive you, the only thing I want to live I'm ready to
Break these chains
Won't see this through
'Cause setting you free means my freedom too
I find I can't get free till I release this vengeance that I seek
Forgive you the only thing I want to live I'm ready to be free

God Bless,

Dominating Dogs!

Three things on today's agenda! First the results of the pet poll! Fourteen people voted.

Dogs, Duh!	8 (57%)
Cats, all the way	4 (28%)
Rodents=Awesomeness!	2 (14%)
Reptiles and Amphibians, for sure	3 (21%)
Fish, they're so cool!	2 (14%)
Other (please specify in comment)	5 (35%)

The dogs have won! Congrats, you bone-chomping, drooly-kissing, absolutely loyal animals! My dog is very happy at the moment ;)

Now, as promised, the story I wrote! Hopefully it's not too lame. Not a true story (of course) but it came from an experience I had of letting my dog in the back yard and slamming into the screen door. Ah, good times. Good times.

This morning, I gave our elephant-sized dog, Tidbit, a bath. He ignored my two brothers squawking in his ear and rubber ducks surrounding him (courtesy of my four-year-old brother Mike). I looked down to see that his shampoo was empty! After scanning the bathroom for something to use to make Tidbit smell tolerable, I grabbed one of the shampoo bottles off our shelf.

“Silky Smooth Hair!” the words screamed.

It sounded good enough, so I lathered some onto Tidbit’s white fur. I left to get a towel to dry him. When I came back, I heard a queer noise.

“Hic!”

I rushed to the bathroom. Tidbit’s expression was peculiar.

“Hic!” Bubbles streamed from his mouth.

“I give Tidbit treat!” Mike giggled.

What?! I looked around frantically for his “treat”. Soon I spotted an empty soap dish. Oh no! Tidbit had eaten a whole bar of soap! Yes siree, he was now a living, breathing bubble machine. I tried to navigate through the bubbles and, Splash!

I was suddenly in the water with Tidbit.

“Hic!” he sympathized.

I sputtered and reached up to heave myself out of the water. Swish! The shower came on! My helpful brothers were on the floor laughing like hyenas. I extracted the rubber duck that had nested in my hair. Tidbit decided that he was done with drama for the day, so he leaped out of the bathtub. I attempted to pull off my favorite football player’s Terrific Tackle, but Tidbit was bigger than your average run-of-the-mill quarterback. I latched onto Tidbit’s back, but he was strong.

“AIEEEEEE!” I was now living my dream of being a rodeo cowgirl, and my brothers were the rodeo clowns.

Tidbit thundered straight for the kitchen. Seeing the heavenly sight of our refrigerator, he stopped, hurling me over his back to…CRASH!…my mom’s valuable china. While I made sure no bones were broken, Tidbit was eating away. Followed by my brothers, he loped to the living room. I sprinted outside at full speed, and SLAM…ran into the glass door. After I recovered from the slight amnesia and pain from the impact, I opened the door and staggered outside.

We ran around for an hour trying to capture Tidbit. I noticed that he was shedding significantly. Finally, we caught him and rubbed him down.

“Tada!” I exclaimed, pulling the towel off.

To my dismay, I saw that Tidbit was bald! It looked like a blizzard hit my backyard and the “snow” had been dumped into our house from the upstairs bathroom to the backyard.

Well, here I am now raking up the “snow”. My brothers are cleaning-up the food and pieces of porcelain all over my mom’s new laminate floor. My parents informed me that the certain human shampoo I used caused poor Tidbit’s dilemma. Now if you will excuse me, I need to go to my room and finish up knitting sweaters for my humiliated hairless hound. Hopefully, he will not mind that the sleeves are a bit long!

And lastly*,

*I do not support or endorse pyzam.com in any way. Though it's an awesome site of blog templates and blogger gadgets, there are some pretty offensive stuff on there.




God Bless,

Randomness- Music

Okay. I've been so busy that I've forgotten my dose of randomness! I love observation. Everything from people and the quirky little habits we have. Such as looking towards you wrist when you're impatient, even when a watch isn't there! Funny, huh? People call it body language. And sometimes, people really talk with their hands and face expressions. Just watch next time. See if you can pick up on someone's mood by observing them. Of course, you may get some looks and a "What are YOU lookin' at?" But hey, it's interesting.

Well, lately I've been thinking about music. Really it's just elongating your words, breathing in and exhaling more air, and hitting a certain tone with your vocal chords.*
Right? Yet, it has such an impact on us humans. It can change out mood in an instant, change our way of thinking, and it's a doorway to worship God.

For instance, I was in a sad mood yesterday because I had been disappointed about something. So I went over to the couch and turned on my Mp3 player. I had set in on shuffle the day before, so the first song I heard was "Something Beautiful" by the Newsboys. (It's on my playlist if you wanna hear it) Anyways, it's a happy song, and didn't agree much to my mood. So I continued scanning through until I found "Start With Me" by Beyond the Veil (Not on my playlist and a fairly new band. They're amazing!) It was a slow song about forgiveness, and it fit my mood. Suddenly, my ears were bombarded with "Dead Man (Carry Me)" by Jars of Clay. It's a song with an upbeat tune. I was reading, so I didn't bother to change it. I mean, I have to reach down and press the "next" button! Talk about a workout! Stangely, by the end of the song, I was happy.

A song? A song did that? Yep.

Sad? Usually people listen to a slow, emotional song. (Examples**: "Never Alone" by BarlowGirl, "God is God" by Steven Curtis Chapman, "I'm Not Who I Was" by Brandon Heath, and "Stand in the Rain" by Superchick...)

Angry? Usually people go for the harder more "concrete" songs with a loud, steady beat. (Examples**: "Rebirthing" and "The Last Night" by Skillet, "Stand and Scream" by Krystal Meyers, and "Ignition" by TobyMac...)

Happy? Usually people go to the light and cheery songs (Examples**: "Take You At Your Word" by Avalon, "Get Up" PureNRG, "Diverse City" by TobyMac, "Talk About It (Say So)" by Nicole C. Mullen)

There are many other moods, and many other songs to express those moods. Music is sort of like a friend that can sympathize with your circumstances. So, do you not agree with it? My theory doesn't prove true to you? You just listen to whatever's on and go with it? Well, this is most likely not going to apply to everyone. Just one of my little observations about myself and my friends. Feel free to post about your thoughts!

Another thing is what we do when we listen to music. I've noticed that kids sing it out and dance around when it comes to music. Their favorite song or artist is on, they're belting out the words. Teens? Why, we usually are seen listening to our music through earbuds, closing our eyes and melting into the song or bobbing our head to the beat. We can also belt it out like the kids since we really are still kids (though we detest to admit the horror of it). And the adults? They can do either.

Interesting.

Think about it.

Music really does have a deep impact on our little ol' lives!

God Bless,



*This is a simplified GoMC version of the definition of the words. No dictionary used.
**These are just songs that I found off of my MP3 player.