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| so I'm pretty much the wrost best friend ever.... after looking over my inventory of christmas presents, it seems that i have somehow forgotten the wonderful pair of shoes, the sparklers, the earring holder, and the various shades of eyeshadow that the lovely Taylor Marie bought me... I am dirt, she is fantastic... and that is that | | |
| Read this Psalm: Psalm 98A psalm. 1 Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him. 2 The LORD has made his salvation known
and revealed his righteousness to the nations. 3 He has remembered his love
and his faithfulness to the house of Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God. 4 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth,
burst into jubilant song with music; 5 make music to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and the sound of singing, 6 with trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn—
shout for joy before the LORD, the King. 7 Let the sea resound, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it. 8 Let the rivers clap their hands,
Let the mountains sing together for joy; 9 let them sing before the LORD,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples with equity. I was sitting in Intro to Music today and I found myself contemplating why I so appreciate music...
For as long as I can remember I have always had a passion for music; dancing, singing, playing, anything to do with music has always "struck a chord" with me (sorry but i couldn't help it)...why? why do i have such and effinity for things muscial, where does this drive come from, and what fuels it?
As i returned to my dorm room, turned on my iTunes and listened to the tune that blared from my laptop, I found myself singing along without even meaning to...what connects me to music?
I have always envied artistic people, painters, scultures, even cartoonists...I have never been very good with my hands, never very good at making things or building things, yet i have a very expressive soul...I can visualize art in my mind, i just can't create it physically, and somehow or another music is something i have always been pretty good at, i can grasp the concepts of music and i have an ear for it and i find it very fulfilling...through music the art that i visualize in my mind comes to life, absent of the colors and the shapes it still lives in the expression and emotion that arises from the tones, the melodies, the harmonies...
at this point you are probably thinking, what does this have to do with the psalm, and why the heck am i still reading this ramble?
As His creations, God has bestowed upon us qualities and uniquenesses that make us one of a kind, special in His eyes...He delights in our delights because He gave us the passion for what we are passionate about...our lives are a production to which there is an audience of one, God...
my passion for music was bestowed upon me that i might turn around and give a little back to Him...
what's your passion? Do you give it back to God so that He might share in the joy it brings? now, on a seperate but equally relavant note...
I was given a small devotional book over Christmas break called "Joy to the World" and within its pages i discovered that Isaac Watts, the author of the popular hymn "Joy to the World" used Psalm 98 as a point of reference when writing the ever popular Christmas tune. it was through the Psalm's ever passionate plee for the praises of God to be sung that sparked his own passion and resulted in the catchy carol we sing each Christmas season.
with that in mind, as well as my banter about passion and giving a little back, take another look at the Psalm and ponder these things in your own heart...
May the joy that attended the birth of our Lord fill your heart and life, not only during the holiday season, but always.
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| so over all I think that Christmas this year was pretty good...
mind you I don't think I've ever had a "bad" Christmas but in material terms I had a pretty good take this year...
so as to not sound like a confused and all around materialistic person I would like to make it perfectly clear to the general public that I am fully aware that Christmas is a celebration of the birth of the Son of God; a festive commemeration of when God humbled himself and came to live among us lowly humans for a time, to be with us in physical terms. I understand and believe this completely...but because our culture chooses to mark this blessed occasion with the exchange of material gifts there is some materialistic tendencies...
as such I will now take an inventory of my "winnings": 1 cell phone - Motorola KRZR
1 digital camera - I don't remember what brand it is but its blue!
1 fleece blanket - its uber soft, its pink and it has skulls and hearts on it
1 purse - its a pirates of the caribbean purse and its HUGE
6 movies - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Amadeus, Anger Management, The Sound of Music, State Fair, and Scooby Doo 2
1 CD - The Sweeney Todd soundtrack
2 flashlights - Pirates of the Caribbean flashlights that my Dad picked out (he was very proud of himself)
1 TV show season - Season 1 of The Office
3 T-Shirts - a Beaner's shirt from Sprandel, a glow-in-the-dark pirate shirt form Camryn, and a pirate shirt that says "Arrrrr...you single?" from Amy
5 pairs of underwear - i know that's kinda TMI, but they are real cute
1 book - a POTC book from Camryn
1 gift card - 35 bucks for HotTopic
1 necklace - a Nightmare Before Christmas locket
and LOTS of candy... overall a good take I'd say...
I spent Christmas day with the fam...that includes Al, Tiff and the girls as well...as is custom at the Milbourne house there was lots of yelling, and complaining about EVERYTHING...if it wasn't my dad shouting at Tiff and I because we wouldn't eat the burssel sprouts he made or Ryan yelling because I refused to fix the fire it was Allen arguing with Tiffani over whose turn it was to feed Raven or somebody making fun of mom for something silly she had said earlier...its very loud aroundour house at Christmas as you can imagine... but despite the rough edged and rugged exterior deep down we really do love eachother...at least i think we do...jk we do, in our own sick and twisted way we do... God Bless Us Everyone! May the wind always be at your back, and may the sun always be on your face, and may the wings of destiny carry you aloft to dance with the stars ** Be sure to check out my movie pick of the week, A Christmas Story, starring Peter Billingsley** | | |
| so last night i was surprized by an old friend...KRISSIEBUG!
she called me and asked me out for coffee...even though in retrospect she never actually HAD any coffee...so we went to Denny's and ate seasoned fries and mayonnaise. Krissie won me a yellow puppy out of the claw machine...i named him Winslow...he's my new cuddle buddy...then we went to the wal-mart by the eastwood town center and Krissie bought her brother a christmas present...but she wanted a winter coat that they had, but they did not have her size so we went to the wal-mart on saginaw to see if they had it, which they did not...but it was there in the claw machine that she saved Ricardo the over-zealous Giraffe from the confinement of his clear plastic home...and let me tell you, Ricardo is nosey...he pesters me a great deal by asking me questions like "do YOU have feet with flowers on them?!" or "do YOU have yellow horns made of yarn?!" or "do YOU have spots?!" you would only really appreciate this if you could hear his voice...and even see him for that matter because he is just...so...awkward looking. all in all it was a great evening of fun and frolic... hooray! May the wind always be at your back, and may the sun always be on your face, and may the wings of destiny carry you aloft to dance with the stars ** Be sure to check out my movie pick of the week, Catch and Release, starring Jennifer Garner** | | |
| Have you ever thought about all the stuff that's happened throughout history and thought to yourself, What the Heck?! What was that all about?! I was watching my movie pick of the week (The Fifth Element, starring Bruce Willis and Milla Jovovich) and there was a part where the main Lilu says there is no reason to save mankind because all they create is made to destroy and kill, there is nothing worth saving...that got me to thinking about life, as i tend to do on a pretty regular basis, and what there is worth living for...here's what i came up with... Love...
a pretty generic answer, i know, but a very complete answer at the same time...let's break it down anyway.. The love of things...
your favorite fastfood joint (Taco Bell)
your favorite band
your favorite movie
a beautiful day
rainbows
puppies, kitties, babies
cake The love you recieve...
a hug from your best friend when your having a bad day
a passionate kiss from your "better half"
a lick on the face from your dog or a contented purr from your cat
a squiggly drawing from your six-year-old cousin that says "I Luv U!"
(if your me) a pair of pliers or a pocket knife from your Dad The love you give...
cheering someone up when they are down
being there in general when someone needs you
putting all that you have on the table and knowing that its enough The love you don't deserve but are given anyway...
Christ on the cross
your sin paid for in full
eternal life that's yours for the taking
What more explaining do you need?
What other reasons are there to live? There is a saying, a life without love is no life at all...i used to not think so, but that was when i was young and immature and i assumed that that applied only to the kind of love between a man and a woman. but now i see that when you look at it in a broader spectrum, it becomes more and more true...i mean try to imagine a life without any of the things i listed above then take that lonely, cold feeling to the tenth power, and that doesn't even scratch the surface of what a life completely absent of love might possibly feel like...a life without love would truly be no life at all...or at least not a life worth living... so i guess what i hope for you, dear reader, is for you to find an area of your life where love is abundant and treasure it and be thankful for it, Thank God for allowing that abundance in your life, then look at an area of your life where love is lacking and maybe, after some prayer, work on bringing more love into that area of your life. whether it is a relationship with a sibling or parent, a friendship fallen to the wayside, a working relationship with an employer, or just an over all attitude towards others, open your mind to it and open your heart, let God work and let love penetrate that area of your life, then watch how it flourishes and grows into something beautiful. May the wind always be at your back, and the sun always be on your face, and may the wings of destiny carry you aloft to dance with the stars. ** Be sure to check out my movie pick of the week, The Fifth Element, starring Bruce Willis and Milla Jovovich** | | |
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