Flyleaf

Okay, so if some of you don't know, Flyleaf is my top favorite band. Like, ever. The band members are..
Lacey Sturm - Lead Singer
Sameer Bhattacharya - Guitarist
Pat Seals - Bassist
Jared Hartmann - Guitarist
James Culpepper - Drummer

Here's a picture of the band:

(Pat is the guy with long hair, by the way. Doesn't he look awesome?)

Lacey Mosley, the lead singer, was born in Arlington, Texas to a single mom of six. They were poor, and when they couldn't afford to live in one place, they'd move to another. Lacy often fought with her mom, and describes her home life as a warzone.
Here's her testimony-



Flyleaf is a hard rock/metal band. Personally, I like that type of music, and the fact that I can relate to most of Lacey's songs is a plus.
If you like rock music, Flyleaf is definitely worth looking into. They have 2 cd's:

album name: Flyleaf

album name: Memento Mori

Considering Lacey's rough background, including her joining a band called Passerby that had a very negative outlook (but later quitting the band), she has a very biblical point of view and is a really good example of how God pursues us. She was going to commit suicide, but God chased her down and decided her story wasn't over and would have a different ending. A better ending.

Hope you enjoy the music.

Wait - Mat Kearney

I found this song while clicking around on Youtube. I've never heard this song, but the name caught my eye and Mat Kearney is one of my favorites. I began to watch it, and the first two verses was all it took for me to think, "This is my favorite song." I've never done that with a song before. I've also never had a song that fit me to a T up until now.
I was born in December. I love December. I love the cold. I've even found myself feeling like this in the middle of December.
Check out this song. I hope you love it too.

(lyrics under the video)



The wind hit my back, cold as I remember
And caught me off guard, in the middle of December
Sometimes a crowded room, can feel the most alone
Sometimes I wonder why, I won't pick up the phone when

[bridge]
This wall is glaring and it's too high for me to climb
I've ran and ran and now there's nothing left behind
I see a picture of a broken man inside
I've tried and tried and now there's nothing left but time

[chorus]
I'll wait for you, I'll wait for you alone
And I'll wait for you, I'll wait for you alone
Together we will fly tonight
And leave all the rest behind
I'll wait for you

These hands can feel like they're not even mine
A tree and a nail and a cry in the night
Sometimes a little step is the greatest divide
Sometimes I feel your breath right at my side when

[bridge]

[chorus]

Here I am at the edge of the road
One hand on the end of the rope
One crack and it breaks alone
Wondering who'se gonna take me home
On my knees when you call my bluff
Begging please from the edge of the ruff
And I know I've had enough, and I know it, and I know it

[bridge]

[chorus]

Just In Case You Forgot

Jesus loves you.

No, really, He's crazy about you.

God sent his son to earth for you, for me, for everyone. Nothing man has created has done for us what Jesus has. How many people on this earth would be willing to go through what Jesus did for a bunch of sinful people?

Uh, like, no one.

I actually don't really care for Christmas music, but I heard this song and fell in love with it. Listen to it, it's amazing! Woot woot, go Downhere!

I Love Olivia!

Here are a few reasons why I love 'Libby':

Chipmunk!

The book is by Dr. Seuss, "OH, The Places You'll Go!"

Aaaawww such a poser!

Love ya baby!

My Crazy Weekend

Ok, so for a lot of people, their weekend starts on Friday. But since I'm weird, mine doesn't usually start until Saturday. The same is true for the weekend I'm about to tell you about...It's a beautiful tale of insanely boring family gatherings made fun, soda chugging contests, wipeouts on scooters, "Naaaaaaa!" and singing to people on the internet.

---WARNING---
If you do not enjoy random, crazy teenager stuff, do not read further. Your brain will be fried by the time you're done, trust me.

But for those of us whose brains are already fried, enjoy the post!

I woke up Saturday morning extremely tired. I don't think I've ever had such a hard time functioning..okay wait, I take that back.
We got to the first family thing around 11:00 am. After a few of my cousins got there, it was pretty fun. Me and my cousin Lana brought back the CCC after 3 years! (note: only certain people reading will understand the last thing I said)

Here's Racer, showing off! ;)

Three of my favorite cousins: Taylor (left), Sarah (middle), and Lana (right)

Belly & Livie! AAAWW!



That evening was when the real fun started. We went to the Montgomery's for a family Christmas party.

Here are a few pictures from that!

Ok, so you're probably wondering about the soda-chugging contest I mentioned earlier. All of us teenagers-Taylor, Taylor Stamp, Lana, Sarah, Ryland, and me all went outside, grabbed cans of soda out of the fridge in the garage, stood in a circle in the driveway, and opened the cans and started chugging. The winner is determined by who finishes drinking their soda and throws the can down on the concrete first. Ryland was first (of course!), I was second, Sarah placed third, Taylor was fourth, Taylor Stamp was fifth, and Lana placed sixth.

It was about ten o clock at night, and after our contest, we all decided to ride scooters and bikes up and down the street. Taylor Stamp went up to one of the neighbors' doors, and rang the doorbell. A bratty-looking teenage girl answered, and their were more than 15 other teens in the house that I could see (and no parents). It was perfect.
The teenager looked at Taylor, surprised, and Taylor said, "Do you wanna come outside and play with me?"
The girl just said, "Uhh..we're kinda watching a movie."

Yeah, right.

Then Taylor said, "Oh ok. Maybe next time!"
We walked off laughing. Sarah was still on her scooter. She got to the end of the driveway, slipped, flew off her scooter and slid like 10 feet! It was hilarious.

Oh, and then she decided to rock out with Blake's Paper Jamz. Here's a picture of that.

We went to go see the Yukon Christmas lights, and had a great time. We were riding in the bed of my aunts truck, and some people passed by and we started yelling, "OMG LOL!" they just looked at us like we were crazy.

Oh wait, we are crazy.

I absolutely love my crazy, nutty family. I wouldn't trade 'em for the world.
Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Recital

Last night I had my first guitar recital. Like, ever. I was so nervous, I couldn't hardly breathe. But thankfully, Lydia Wilson was sitting next to me, and she distracted me through the first 17 songs. Thanks Lydia!
Kelsey was the 18th student to play, and she did so good! She played "O Come, All Ye Faithful" on the piano. Go Kelso!! She finished her piece, and sat back down by me. I gave her a high five, and then..

The announcer said my name.

I prayed,"Uh hey God? I know there's more important things right now..like ya know, starving kids in Africa, but I'm really kinda nervous, so..that would be really great if you could help me out here.".

Before I knew it, it was over (by the way I played a medley; a combo of Jolly Old St. Nicholas and Jingle Bells), and I did much better than I thought I was going to! Woot woot, God's awesome! It was really fun. Afterwards my family, both my aunts, and a few of my cousins all went to eat at Ihop. The highlight of my night was when my cousin Lily, who is 4, said to the waitress as she was walking by, "Hey, do you have pancakes and eggs, lady? I want pancakes and eggs!"
Ha! cute kid!

Oh, here's a nice one of my cousin Jacob at the reception. What a goofball!

Mountaintop

Here's a song to follow up my previous post. I LOVE this song!

A Different Kind Of Lost

A while back, my family and I went to some sort of event (can't remember what the event was but, no matter), and afterwards we headed out to our white Ford Explorer. I can remember it was pretty chilly out, and since it was about ten o' clock at night, we wanted to hurry and get home before it got any colder.
My dad was driving. We were in Edmond, our destination Oklahoma City, but when my dad got on the highway, he headed in the wrong direction. A sign along the way let him know where he was, but by this time it was too late to turn around. He had two exits he could have gotten off of, but he missed one and the other was closed for construction.

Needless to say, he was frustrated. Very frustrated. We were all the way in Wellston, Oklahoma.

Lost, angry, and in the middle of nowhere, we all tried not to laugh as he finally found a gas station and jerked the car into the parking lot. He filled up the tank, got a map inside the gas station, and we all got ourselves a snack. Then we drove on, making it home at about midnight.

Now why did I tell you that story?

I want to show you a different kind of lost. When my dad headed in the wrong direction, he had no idea he was in the wrong. He had no idea that once he realized what was happening, it would be too late and he'd wind up in Wellston. He had no idea how inconvenient it would be, how he would running on low fuel, and how it would take him a good hour and a half to get back home. But that's what happened.

That's what it's like to be lost in this world! You don't know there is anything out of the ordinary until it's too late. Then you miss your exits, and it takes a long time to come back around. In the meantime, you are so low on fuel (aka energy) that you don't think you can possibly go on any longer. But picture God as your gas station. He fills you back up, gives you a map, and helps you make it home. When you get there, and you can finally relax and calm your nerves.

This is what God does for us. He finds us lost, broken, and frazzled and brings us home where we become, joyful, thankful, and lost in Him. Bad things still happen, but you are so focused on the new things He's showing you, following Him, and thanking Him for what He's done that nothing else matters. You know that no matter what, He's got your back, and you don't have to worry anymore. To be lost in the world is to be broken and dissatisfied, but to be lost in Jesus is eternal happiness.

My Blog Got A Facelift

Hey everybody! What do you all think of the new look and title of my blog?

This Bittersweet Life

Hey everybody, check out this song. It really sums up how God is there in both good times and bad, holding your hand the whole way. He knows how this life is so bittersweet, and He never leaves you.
Even in the bitter:)

Pray

I spent a few hours last night praying and talking to God (that's a record!). I prayed about a lot of things, but mostly I prayed for a friend of mine. I love this girl to death. She's funny, she's sweet, she's pretty..I love her.
She talks to me a lot about her personal life, and she really trusts me. I'm glad she does, because I really enjoy talking to her and helping her. But last night, I had myself so worried about her, and as hard as I tried I could not sleep. I felt like Adam Young..leave my door open just a crack, because I feel like such an insomniac. Haha!
But I decided to change up my normal routine and, instead of worrying my fool head off until I finally fall asleep around 2 or 3, I prayed about it.
Afterwards, I felt ten times better. I could actually sleep. Come on, it's pretty amazing for me to actually get some sleep! Between headaches, school, worrying, and a busy schedule, I rarely get more than five hours of sleep.
I know most people doubt that praying actually works, but it totally does! I don't know if my friend is doing any better (she's kinda got herself in a big mess), but it felt like ten pounds had come off my shoulders after I talked to Him about my worries.
If what you're doing isn't working, try God! He works;)