Tears

Tears are special, to say the least. It's not a habit of mine to cry, so when I do I know it's for a reason. To me, tears are a way our body expresses the most passionate emotions - the most joyful of joy and the deepest pit of sadness. I value tears. It's a reminder that I have someone I care enough to cry about.

The Song of Moses

This morning in my devotions I read about the Israelites fleeing from Egypt and the waters parting for them in Exodus 14, but then in Exodus 15 I read the song of Moses. I've never really taken the time to examine this chapter or savor the beauty of God displayed in these words, so I wanted to share the joy I discovered.

Exodus 15:1-18

"Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and spoke saying:

'I will sing unto the Lord,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!
The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
He is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father's God, and I will exalt Him.
The Lord is a man of war;
The Lord is His name.
Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has cast into the sea;
His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.
The depths have covered them;
They sank to the bottom like a stone.

Your right hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power;
Your right hand, O Lord, has dashed the enemy in pieces.
And in the greatness of Your excellence
You have overthrown those who rose against you;
You sent forth Your wrath;
It consumed them like stubble.
And with the blast of Your nostrils
The waters were gathered together;
The floods stood upright like a heap;
The depths congealed in the heart of the sea.
The enemy said, "I will pursue,
I will overtake,
I will divide the spoil;
My desire shall be satisfied on them.
I will draw my sword,
My hand shall destroy them."
You blew with Your wind,
The sea covered them;
They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like You, glorious in holiness,
Fearful in praises, doing wonders?
You stretched out Your right hand;
The earth swallowed them.
You in Your mercy have led forth
The people whom you have redeemed;
You have guided them in Your strength
To Your holy habitation.

The people will hear and be afraid;
Sorrow will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia.
Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed;
The mighty men of Moab,
Trembling will take hold of them;
All the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away.
Fear and dread will fall on them;
By the greatness of your arm
They will be as still as a stone,
Till Your people pass over, O Lord,
Till the people pass over
Whom You have purchased.
You will bring them in and plant them
In the mountain of Your inheritance,
In the place, O Lord, which You have made
For your own dwelling,
The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.

The Lord shall reign forever and ever.'"

Health...to the extreme

Today I took a "Health & Wellness" class. It was VERY informative and I thought I'd share a little of the very useful information.

First of all, why is health important?

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, Who is in you, Whom you have received from God?...So use every part of your body to give back to God..." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

"You were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." 1 Corinthians 6:20

Did you know?
The heart weighs less than one pound and yet beats approximately 40 million times per minute.
The energy output of the heartbeat in a 24-hour period alone is enough to raise three fully-loaded Greyhound buses off the ground.
The lungs use about 90-gallons of pure oxygen per day.
We take approximately 9-million breaths per year!
(And that's just a few of the amazing facts I learned!)

Healthy decisions: make a choice! Pure & sufficient or toxic & deficient?

So... move well (exercise!), eat well (lots of water, for example; and did you know that breakfast and lunch should be your biggest meals because you need the energy to get through the day? But dinner does have to be so big, because the food will not get burned off), and think well (the body achieves what the mind believes).

Life is...
a gift, open it
a joy, share it
a pleasure, have some
a ball, catch it
a game, play it
an experience, live it
an offer, accept it
a dream, make it come true!

(This is all thanks to Drs. Anthony & Stephanie Lanzara...amazing and informative class!)

By the way, watch the movie, Supersize Me. It's GROSS but you'll never want to eat at McDonald's again! Trust me!

Lucas

I just recently finished the book Lucas by Kevin Brooks. I thought the book was very well written, although it was one of those books where you're just saying, "When is this going to get exciting?" I absolutely loved how the author wrote though - although he's most definetly not my favorite author (that would have to be J.K. Rowling and Stephanie Meyers) - but it was very well written and had a hint of mysteriousness to it, kind of letting you decide for yourself what it meant. The book was practical, displaying typical situations for a teenage girl. I also thought it was interesting that the author decided to write from a girl's perspective, but I think he did very well at displaying the emotions. I wouldn't recommend this book, just because of language and some sketchy situations the main character finds herself in, but it was refreshing to read words that just flowed off my tongue and through my mind like music.

Remembering Sunday

This is a song I ABSOLUTELY love. I think the story is sad, but really good. And yes, this is a PUNK song with a story - NOT COUNTRY!!!! Anyway, this is Remembering Sunday by All Time Low.

Remembering Sunday
He woke up from dreaming and put on his shoes
Starting making his way past 2 in the morning
He hasn't been sober for days

Leaning now into the breeze
Remembering Sunday, he falls to his knees
They had breakfast together
But two eggs don't last
Like the feeling of what he needs

Now this place seems familiar to him
She pulled on his hand with a devilish grin
She led him upstairs, she led him upstairs
Left him dying to get in

Forgive me, I'm trying to find
My calling, I'm calling at night
I don't mean to be a bother,
But have you seen this girl?
She's been running through my dreams
And it's driving me crazy, it seems
I'm going to ask her to marry me

Even though she doesn't believe in love,
He's determined to call her bluff
Who could deny these butterflies?
They're filling his gut

Waking the neighbors, unfamiliar faces
He pleads though he tries
But he's only denied
Now he's dying to get inside

Forgive me, I'm trying to find
My calling, I'm calling at night
I don't mean to be a bother,
But have you seen this girl?
She's been running through my dreams
And it's driving me crazy, it seems
I'm going to ask her to marry me

The neighbors said she moved away
Funny how it rained all day
I didn't think much of it then
But it's starting to all make sense
Oh, I can see now that all of these clouds
Are following me in my desperate endeavor
To find my whoever, whoever she may be

[Juliet Simms:]
I'm not coming back (forgive me)
I've done something so terrible
I'm terrified to speak (I'm not calling, I'm not calling)
But you'd expect that from me
I'm mixed up, I'll be blunt, now the rain is just (You're driving me crazy, I'm)
Washing you out of my hair and out of my mind
Keeping an eye on the world,
From so many thousands of feet off the ground, I'm over you now
I'm at home in the clouds, and towering over your head

[Alex Gaskarth:]
"Well I guess I'll go home now...
I guess I'll go home now...
I guess I'll go home now...
I guess I'll go home"


The music is really amazing too. They don't have an official music video for it yet, but I can play it...! It's just wonderful - my favorite song right now, so I thought I'd share.

for the first

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I don't feel like studying, to start off with, so I'm procrastinating. Midterms are yucky! I'm pretty excited about blogging - which I've never done before! So, we'll see how this goes...? I guess this is where you talk about stuff - like what's on your mind and things like that, so here goes.

Now, for the serious stuff. I've had a lot on my mind lately, but one thing has stuck out in particular, and that is how judgmental can be. It really tears people down, and it kills me to hear my friends judge other people - usually looks, weight, etc. There's more to people than their weight? Is that all that matters these days to people? I think - I know - that as Christians, that's not the way we should be acting (and believe me, its WE, because I'm guilty too). I just get tired of all the junk that goes around! I mean, what's being said about me? I try not to care about that kind of thing, but as a human (and a teenager :) I suppose it's hard not to. That's just one thing I would change about my life and the people around me right now.

Let me hear your comments! What do you think about this? And what would you like me to talk about in the future?

For now, I leave you with these lyrics: