The Two Towers~CONDENSED
and
The Return of the King~CONDENSED
These are definitely worth reading. Many of the humor sections hit close to home..especially "That's it! No more listening to the Cure for you!"........***cough cough-Mom-cough cough***
And, to all random lurkers who read my blog, PLEASE COMMENT!!!!!!
Well you wonder why I always dress in black
Why you never see bright colors on my back
And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone
Well there's a reason for the things that I have on
I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down
Livin' in the hopeless hungry side of town
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime
But is there because he's a victim of the times
I wear the black for those who've never read
Or listened to the words that Jesus said
About the road to happiness through love and charity
Why you'd think he's talking straight to you and me
Well we're doin' mighty fine I do suppose
In our streak of lightning cars and fancy clothes
But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back
Up front there oughta be a man in black
I wear it for the sick and lonely old
For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold
I wear the black in morning for the lives that could have been
Each week we lose a hundred fine young men
And I wear it for the thousands who have died
Believin' that the Lord was on their side
I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died
Believin' that we all were on their side
Well there's things that never will be right I know
And things need changin' everywhere you go
But till we start to make a move to make a few things right
You'll never see me wear a suit of white
Oh I'd love to wear a rainbow every day and tell the world that everything's okay
But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back
Till things're brighter I'm the man in black
We went to San Antonio this past weekend, and one of the things we did was the Alamo. That is one of the best things a Texan can do. The Battle of the Alamo is such an epoch of Texas Independence, after hearing it, one can't help but feel pround of our great Republic/State. There was a t-shirt I saw at one of the stores there that said "It's hard to be humble when one is a Texan." I agree...like Mom says, "Every state should be required to take Texas history."
~------------~
To the People of Texas and All Americans in the World:
Fellow citizens & compatriots;
I am besieged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna. I have sustained a continual Bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost a man. The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken. I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, & our flag still waves proudly from the walls. I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch. The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country. VICTORY OR DEATH.
William Barret Travis
Lt. Col. comdt 2495
P.S. The Lord is on our side. When the enemy appeared in sight we had not three bushels of corn. We have since found in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels & got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beeves.
Ok, so I know what some of y'all are thinking: "This whole blog is for geeks! Why title it as such for this one post?" Two words: Chad Vader.
Chad Vader is the internet sensation of Darth Vader's younger less charismatic brother. He works as the day shift manager at Empire Market. But will that change? Will Jeremy become his apprentice? Will Chad ever do battle with Clint? Watch the series to find out.
1. First off, this is my 50th post!!!! Yay!!!! I've been on blogger for about...four months now, and I've loved it.
2. My awsome friend Tricia and I are in the beginning stages of setting up a company of sorts that will sell different things we make and donate money to different charities and causes. Please be in prayer for the planning and beginning stages of it. I'll have more information later.
3. People are becoming dumber....we got a new sunshade for our car today, and it actually said on the box: warning-do not drive while using sunshade. Good grief!!!
4. I feel as if I'm in the deep breath before the plunge, to quote Gandalf...this week is going to be extremely hectic, so I have no idea how often I'll be able to update. Additionally, I don't even know if I'll be able to successfully publish this post cause my internet is having MAJOR issues....
5. To close, I'd like to leave y'all with a portion from Chapter 2 of the Fellowship of the Ring:
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
Ok, so fellow Losties, we can't wait for January, yes? (Six months to go....) Because I'm feeling the angst and I'm hard up for ideas for blog posts, I am going to write about my favorite Lost characters and why I love them.
1. Charlie Hieronymous Pace
Ok, so maybe I was predisposed to like him because he's played by Merry's Dominic Monaghan from LotR, but so what. Charlie is an amazing character because there's so much redemption and renewal in him that takes place on the Island. He comes to the Island a drug addict, but through the help of John Locke, he struggles against it like the Moth in the chrysalis. And at the end of season three, he sacrificed himself in order to see Desmond's vision through of Claire and Aaron on a helicopter...which came true half way since I think Claire's technically dead. (see my post on Cabin Fever in May)
2. Desmond David Hume
Being stuck in the Swan station for all that time could drive anyone mad, but only Desmond could be driven mad then come back and be a perfectly normal Scotsman. Well, perfectly normal time-traveling, future-seeing Scotsman. Though, since he found his Constant, he should be normal now. I also love how they used the Greek Penelope myth to make Penny's character. For those who don't know, Penelope was Odysseus's wife, and she waited faithfully for him for twenty years.
3. James "Sawyer" Ford
Sawyer's another one of those characters who experiences great growth on the Island. Think about it; when we first met him, all we saw was a confidence man who didn't give a dingo's kidney for anything, much less loved anyone. Yet by the end of season four, he's done some selfless things for others. He braved the attack on New Otherton to save Claire; he jumped out of a helicopter to prevent it from going down. Another thing that makes Sawyer stick out for me is his love of reading. Any man who would sit on a beach and read A Wrinkle In Time has my respect.
4. John Locke
The Great White Hunter.....Locke has always had a coolness factor that's hard to beat. No matter what, he's just....cool! As soon as he arrived, he was healed and knew that he was supposed to be on the Island. Even though he had had so many traumatic things happen to him, he was the man of faith ready to do what the Island wanted him to.
5. Benjamin Linus
The man who always has a plan.....Ben is so smart and crafty, one can barely keep up with him, so I won't even try. I do find it very disturbing that he can't return to the Island...
I made it!! I was cast as a Bird Girl. I have no idea what the part will entail, but I don't think it'll be a bad part at all. Rehearsals start next Monday, yay, and if any of y'all are interested, the performances are at the ____ Theater on August 2 and 3. I don't know when tickets will go on sale, but when they do, I'll let y'all know.
Being reminded by a comment, I realize I never said anything about my audition. I think it went well. My voice didn't crack terribly, and it's doing better now than it was before.
As for casting.....we won't hear till Wednesday. Because of this, Mom already enacted the anti-LadyBrainsample-sits-around-in-angst-all-day plan. It's been fun!
On Saturday after the audition, we went all over the place. Bed, Bath, and Infinity for a gift for someone, Borders for books, and JC Penny originally for a gift, but coming out with alot of random stuff cause it was all on sale. I found a dress for five bucks and I love it! It's very me; black with purple spots, so I'm happy.
At Borders, Mom got An Inconvenient Book by Glenn Beck, and I read it in a matter of a day and a half. I don't know if I've said this before on my blog....but I love Glenn Beck!!!
Also from Borders, finally a new edition of the Princess Bride is out!!! Yay!!!!!! For those who have seen the movie, the book is just as good if not better than the movie, so go find it and read it! For those who have not seen the movie, read the book AND see the movie in no particular order. This is the sort of book that doesn't get ruined if you see the movie first.
For those who went to camp with me, you need no blog article to tell how great our band was. But for everyone else, if you have never heard of the band Fee, you must go to iTunes right away and see their album, We Shine. These guys are amazing! Each of their songs is Christ centered and sticks in your head (in a good way) so much that I had many of their songs memorized after only five days of hearing them. My absolute favorites off of this album are the title song, We Shine, and Glorious One. Other favorites include All Because of Jesus, Happy Day, and Beautiful the Blood. Please check out their album!
Well, I don't know where to even begin. God has done amazing things in my life, as well as everyone who went to camp with me.
After the six hour car ride, all 2700ish students at the camp were in the auditorium that we would spend a majority of our time in for the next four days. As the lights went out, a great cheer errupted. Everyone stood as the band started to lead us in worship. Just standing there at the beginning, it was amazing to be around so many other believers that were my age and to worship God.
The first few days were rough. The schedule took a lot of getting used to as well as where everything was located and how long it took to walk from place to place. As a side note, I'd like to thank my small group leader Paul, who was our Daddy Duck leading us from place to place. But anyway, by Tuesday night, our hearts were prepared for one of the most convicting and challenging messages to be directed at us.
David Nassar was our speaker, and he gave us illustration and story after illustration and story to show that GOD IS EVERYTHING. He talked about how he loved his wife and kids, but they make lousy Gods. God is everything, and he deserves NOTHING BUT to be praised 100%. He doesn't deserve to just be put on the top shelf of our life, because a shelf can share room with other things. He deserves to be on the THRONE of our lives and NOTHING ELSE. Every single one of us in the youth group was convicted in a specific way. As we were dismissed, David Nassar asked that we be silent except to sing the closing song (Everything, by Tim Hughes) with Fee, the band leading us.
Be my everything,
Be my everything,
Be my everything,
Be my everything.
Christ in me,
Christ in me,
Christ in me,
The hope of glory,
Lord you are everything.
As we walked out, I was weeping as I sang. I knew how God wanted me to respond, and it broke me. When we got to the room where we did our church group time, Bryan opened up the floor by saying if the Spirit had convicted us with something specific, we should quietly come up and write it on the board in front of us. After everyone finished, Bryan asked if any one of us wanted to share what we had written and why. I was the third to speak, and I was still broken and crying. I shared that I had been bitter and self centered. I had remembered everything bad that anyone had ever done to me, and I had trouble forgiving them. As I spoke, people laid their hands on me and held my hands, and for that I am so grateful. Thank you to everyone there who understood and encouraged me, and thank you to everyone who forgave me for specific things I had done to them and for not forgiving them.
That Tuesday night, our youth group grew closer than we had ever become. We shared our struggles, prayed about them, and we all walked out of there elated and free. Free from the lies of the devil, and free from any kind of dislike for one another. That night, I was happier than I had been in months, probably even years.
The next night, Wednesday, at church group Bryan opened up the floor for anyone to stand and share what God had taught us this week. When I talked, I told how God had helped me release my bitterness and how He had shown me that He was everything. I told about how I had come to this camp with a broken friendship, and the night before, we had each heard the call of the Spirit to forgive each other and not be enemies any longer. I also shared about how during camp I found out that at least two different people were suffering from depression at the same time I was. I wished our youth group had been as close as we were that night because we probaby would have been able to each get out of our depression faster through prayer with one another. I also said that I hoped our group would continue to become closer so that we would be able to lean on one another when more trials were to come.
To close, if I had to describe my camp experience in one sentence, I would say, "God is everything, and I'm not alone," because now I know that I have incredible Christian friends who are there to pray for me, to encourage me, and to hold me in their arms when I cry, as they did many times over the course of this camp.
Standing in the love of Christ,
Lady Brainsample
PS Thank you to anyone that sat through this very lengthy blog post. If any of y'all have any questions, please leave a comment and I will reply to the best of my abilities. And as always, comments are greatly appreciated anyway!
