Bathroom Bonding

This is dedicated to the randomness inside. I wrote this once and then the window got closed.. this one isn't as funny.. but I'll try.

1. I highly suggest that if you are having troubles with your girlfriends take some time to bond in the bathroom. I found out how effective this method is today during church.. Ha.. that's right Tom, the secret world of the bridge girls revealed.. at least a little.
Today was a weird day. Some of us girls just weren't getting along today despite the breakfast we had together this morning. It was just kind of hard to focus on what was going on at church rather then our problems. So while Tom was preaching, I had to go to the bathroom and then my friend came in and we started talking... and about ten minutes later another friend came in and the three of us talked for another ten minutes until another friend came in.. And we talked until church was over.. Just the four of us.. sitting in the bathroom.. bonding. Isn't it random how girls always go to teh bathroom to talk? You'd think they'd figure out that the acoustics are better so the sound can really travel when you're in there.. So for about 45 minutes to an hour we just sat in the bathroom talking about the most random things and afterwards we all felt so much better. I think I'll write a self-help book about it and make alot of money off of it now..

2. I love the song "Swing Life Away" by Rise Against. Me and a friend were talking about it and I brought up the thought that I'd totally put it in my wedding.. Ha.. well.. apparently some people may be offended by it (only those with dirty minds) because of one line in the song. Of course, I laughed at that concept saying "Who cares! I'll be married! It's my wedding anyways!" I love it. you can listen to it at

Lyrics:
Am I loud and clear, or am I breaking up?
Am I still your charm, or am I just bad luck?
Are we getting closer, or are we just getting more lost?

I'll show you mine if you show me yours first
Let's compare scars, I'll tell you whose is worse
Let's unwrite these pages and replace them with our own words

We live on front porches and swing life away,
We get by just fine here on minimum wage If love is a labor
I'll slave till the end, I won't cross these streets until you hold my hand

I've been here so long, I think that it's time to move
The winter's so cold, summer's over too soon
Let's pack our bags and settle down where palm trees grow

I've got some friends, some that I hardly know
But we've had some times, I wouldn't trade for the world
We chase these days down with talks of the places that we will go

We live on front porches and swing life away,
We get by just fine here on minimum wage
If love is a labor I'll slave till the end,
I won't cross these streets until you hold my hand....until you hold my hand

I'll show you mine if you show me yours first
Let's compare scars, I'll tell you whose is worse
Let's unwrite these pages and replace them with our own words

We live on front porches and swing life away,
We get by just fine here on minimum wage
If love is a labor I'll slave till the end,
I won't cross these streets until you hold my hand

Swing life away [x4]


It reminds me of best friends. And my mom always tells me to marry my best friend... So there you go, if you don't like it, you don't have to come.. Unless your name is Tom. Then you're required to come.

3. Elyon is the Hebrew name of God meaning "most high". I love it. and I love Ted Dekker's books.

4. I want a tattoo of Elyon in Hebrew.

5. Bradley Hathaway is way to cool for you... But listen to "the boobie poem" at http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=4757847. it'll be awkward... no doubt about that. But if you've been keeping up with my blogs you'll know that it's worth it in the end. have fun...

6. I don't find it weird that guys wear girl pants.. I like it. Don't hate cause you're homophobic. Just because a guy wears girl pants, doesn't mean he's gay.. Alot of them aren't. So calm yourself down.

7. I'm thinking about getting my lip pierced. sweeeet....

There you go. A few random thoughts for you..

www.thebradley.net

MORE MORE MORE!

More Bradley for you!!!

This is one of my favorite poems of Bradley Hathaways...

Mainly because it's the first one i had ever heard, and then because it's halariously beautiful, if that makes any sense to you...

Here's the link to the video: http://www.relevantbooks.com/splashes/bradley/commercial.htm

And here are the words... no need for me to analyze it for you, it's pretty self explainatory.

Manly Man

I don't wany my long hair
Pretty green eyes with
NO I DO NOT HAVE ON MASCARA
Eyelashes
Skinny Figure
Undersized t-shirt

Hips shake too much when I walk
Confuse anybody

I AM A MANLY MAN!

Within this sissy frame
Obvioudly rib laden chest
Lies a heart
That BEATS

to the drum of a
Native American ritual dancing
WILDNESS

It PUMPS an evercascarding supply of untamedness
that a heard of wild mustangs have yet to grasp.

If DANGER lurks about I will seek it out.
If adventure abounds there I will be found.
If a damsel be in distress

I will show her who is best.

I AM A MANLY MAN!

because I DON'T FLUSH
and I leave the lid up.

I drive a nineteen
eighty eight
Ford PICK-UP truck.

GIRLS DON'T BREAK UP WITH ME
I break up with THEM!
except the last time...

I DON'T SHAVE THE HAIR ON MY FACE
(because I still can't grow facial hair yet..
but when I CAN I won't.)

I
FART
BURP
SPIT
WHEN I WANT

Not caring who is nearby

DISRESPECT my MOMMA
and I will punch you in the eye!

I AM A MANLY MAN!

OR AM I?

I TELL MY guy friends I love them.
Sometimes I even hug them.
Not because I'm gay

BUT because I LOVE THEM.

When I watched "Bambi"
I cried
WHEN MY MEMA GETS MAD
I still run and hide.

LIKE DAVID I WANT TO BE A MAN AFTER GOD'S OWN HEART
I'm not there yet but past the start.

And when people talk
I try to listen
A SPIRIT OF COMPASSION
that's my vision.
Surely I am a Manly man
I WANT TO BE LOVED
and have love
AND GIVE LOVE
(not ust that romantic kind either)

ALTHOUGH I AM LOOKING FOR THAT BEAUTY
NOT HELPLESS
But wants to be rescued.
The damsle in distress
MAN
WOMAN
MYTH
TRUE.

I WILL FIGHT FOR HER.
CLIMB THE HIGHEST TOWER FOR HER.

LOVER HER.

SHARE with her.

DELIGHT IN HER.

Be her WARRIOR

HER PROTECTOR

SHE WILL BE MY CROWN
and I will be hers.

MY MASCULINITY WILL BE PASSED DOWN
AND AFFIRMED TO MY SONS.

Each of my daughters will know they are LOVED
and deserving of authentic romance.

SOCIETY TELLS ME
ALL DAY LONG

THAT I HAVE DEFINED MANHOOD
COMPLETELY WRONG

BUT YOU ASK and honest man and he will agree
YOU ASK any honest woman and she too will see

THAT I AM A MANLY MAN!

The Annoying Hardcore - Bradley Hathaway

So Bradley Hathaway is a young guy who writes poetry and then performs them in between hardcore bands or does random "house tours" where he just goes into people's homes, sets up like 30 chairs and performs his poetry.. But he's not just any ol' poet. His stuff at first comes off somewhat humorous but then, at the very end, it slaps you in the face with something amazing. The first poem I heard of his is called manly man. Actually.. I watched a video of him reciting it. you can watch it at http://www.relevantbooks.com/splashes/bradley/commercial.htm .... You must watch it all the way through though, or else it has no impact. But the one that I am going to talk about is called "The Annoying Hardcore". It gives a flawless portrayal of hardcore kids.. so if you don't know what they are just keep on reading and by the end you'll know them inside and out, literally. Cause that's what Bradley Hathaway's poems are all about. They go from the surface to the root.. or from the outside in. The reason I found this poem so interesting is because one of my friends used to be hardcore and this described him perfectly. So here you go... The annoying hardcore...

I AM HARDCORE! I WILL WINDMILL KICK YOU IN THE FACE! EVERYBODY BACK UP make a circle, lets destroy this place.

the lights are low and i'm about to go OFF. here comes the break down.. KARATE CHOP!

raise up your arms, make an X if you're down. me and my crew, we own this stinkin town. watch out for my fist, your face it will kiss on purpose. i'm tough and i'm ticked.

i don't slow dance, i don't salsa dance. forget the tango i don't slam dance you idiot.

I AM HARDCORE. on the floor i'm the man you've never seen before. when the drummer yells GO, its my time to blow.

and in between songs i yell at all of the bands cause i don't care what they have to say. i'm not here to learn anything anyway. i'm here to dance in the zone in a trance.

i don't smoke cigarettes... but if she's willing i'll drop my pants. promiscuous i am but i'm vegan, i don't eat meat or any of that stuff because its bad for you right?

i want to save the animals i don't care about the sweat shop scandals i DO NOT shop at Hot Topic. I am not "mall core", i am HARDCORE.

Madball, Hatebreed, throw down in terror. i own them all on colored vinal, limited edition, and hand numbered. but you won't see me asking for no autographs cause i aint looking like to fool, i aint no pop culture tool. if they aint screamin, i aint listenin. if they aint got a blast beat i aint tappin my feet.

i eat EMO PANSIES for BREAKFAST. and i give their little tee-shirts to my little sister so cry about you little messanger bag, purse carrying whatever.

i wear girl pants but i'm homophobic but the way i'm always huggin on my homeboys you sure wouldn't know it. i've had my ears stretched an inch since back in '96.

somebody told me that hardcore was a place to share what you believed. but i didn't like what dude said so i flipped him off and told him to leave. i'm mad at society cause my parents won't buy me a new computor, eventhough i asked politely.

my playsation 2 is broken BUT my X BOX works. when that breaks though something is gunna HIT THE FAN and i'll express myself with RAGE AND ANGER just like a MAN cause thats how its done right? you get mad and start a fight right?

i think i may, i think i might take my INSECURITIES out on that punk in the put tonight...

cause really i am just insecure and more than that i'm kinda scared and i'm hurting inside. and i don't know how to deal with it. i don't know what being a man means.

i thought acting TOUGH was the way to go but..now that i think about it, i'm, i'm EMO..

-more bradley hathaway to come..-

Eyes...

Why are so many people fascinated with eyes??

Why?

How is this that a person's eyes can show so much expression?

How can a person's eyes have such an effect on you?

You can always tell when two people are in love (or like each other very much for the younger crowd) when they can't stop looking into each other eyes. Be it up close and pesonal or acros the room. For some reason, it just always happens.

Ezekiel 10:12
Their whole body, their backs, their hands, their wings and the wheels were full of eyes all around, the wheels belonging to all four of them.

Why? I don't know, I just have always thought that it was cool.

Matthew 6:22,23
"The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!"

Have your parents ever told you, "garbage in, garbage out"? Well, basically, they jacked it from Jesus. A good source to get it from.. I don't know, I'd listen to Him. But seriously now, that's basically what he said. That's why our eyes can be so expressive. Our emotions show through for everyone to see.. Most everyone, some people are just clueless to that kind of thing, but don't worry, they'll come down out of their high soon. The drugs never last as long as you think.

So, that basically explains my fascination with eyes. Just remember that what ever you put in, comes out. That's the motto for the human body.. eye's are no exception. So make sure you know what you're "feeding" your eyes because you can't see anything in the darkness..

And check out www.prophetik.com

They have the coolest shirts ever.. Including one about eyes.

fronts

I couldn't get the video on here so go to the link and watch the video before you finishing reading this or the rest won't make too much sense...



http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=647833915&n=2




Blindside, ladies and gentlemen...

First of all.. I ask you to simply watch the video. It may not be your "style" of music, but try to be gracious because there is a point that I'm going to make with it. I think you can take 4 minutes of your life to at least grant me this one thing.


So, this song (as christian, the singer, says) is in swedish so you may not get the full impact of the song until you read the lyrics. But first here's a little background on the band.


Blindside is a christian hardcore band from Sweden. Now, if you listened to the song you probably didn't realize it was Christian, mainly because you couldn't understand the words. (that'll be fixed if you keep reading) You also might have put a stereotype on it because of what it sounded like and because of what the guys in the band looked like? Yes?


Ask yourself a question, just for your own self knowledge...


What did you think the song was about just from the sound? (screaming, heavy guitars, and a little crazy drumming)

I've heard it described as "death to the world" "I hate everyone" "kill me now" music. Sure, every genre of music has some depressing music, but this band does not fit into that stereotype. Sorry guys, but if I were to describe Blindside to any christian, I'd have to label them as the worship music of the hardcore scene. Actually.. More like what

So, now that you know some background along with my personal opinions in there, read the lyrics to this song.. maybe you'll see it in a different light afterwards.

Nara


Hennes hjärta slog hårdare för varje sekund
Skalet höll emot som aldrig förut
En vägran till var allt detta har sin grund
Skalet höll emot men stora bucklor buktar ut


Inte nu, kanske senare och aldrig förut
Som en blomma som aldrig slagit ut
Om en längtan som aldrig fött ett beslut
Om en längtan som aldrig tagit slut


Med fötterna så långt under markytan
Och ändå bärare av ett rotlöst hjärta
För svårt att ta sig upp och ändå veta
Att skönhet kommer ur smärta


Och jag önskar jag kunde dra dig upp därifrån
Men ingen annan utom den ende kan
Och jag önskar jag kunde dra dig upp därifrån
Min tunga kan aldrig klä i ord att min låga är sann


Och jag ska aldrig mer vara rädd att visa mig vek
Aldrig mer med hot försöka bevisa min kärlek

Så låt dig träffas i hjärtat låt det blöda
Om jag kunde skulle jag ta tillbaks de ord som var döda
Om hans liv fick bli din föda
Om ditt hjärta fick blöda
Försök inte vinna tid
För jag ser ingenting av den varan
Trots att jag kommer att stå kvar där jag är

Vilket val du än tar
Står jag kvar

Möt mig vid fridsfurstens fötter
Jag har ingenting utom det som är mina rötter
Möt mig på knä framför hans fötter


Now, if for some reason you never learned how to speak swedish in school, not to worry, I will provide you with the english translation. Fasten your seatbelts folks.


Close

Her heart was beating harder for every second
The shell was holding up like never before
A refusal to where all this has it's foundation
The shell hold up, but big dents bulge

Not now, maybe later and never before
Like a flower that never blossomed
About a longing that never given birth to a decision
About a longing that never ended

With the feet so far below the ground surface
And yet carrier of a rootless heart
Too hard to get up and still knowing
That beauty comes out of pain


And I wish I could pull you up from there
But no one else than The Only One can
And I wish I could pull you up from there
My tongue can never dress in words that my flame is true

And I shall never again be afraid of showing my weak self
Never again with threat try to prove my love


So let yourself get hit in the heart, let it bleed
If I could I would take back the words that were dead
If you could be fed through
His lifeIf your heart would bleed
Whatever choice you make I remain
Meet me at the feet of the Prince of Peace
I have nothing except what are my roots
Meet me on your knees before His feet


Hmmm.. now doesn't it sound better to you??


Blindside is my most favorite band, ever. First I didn't know why, and then I read the lyrics to my favorite song. The verse that jumped out at me the most went like this:


Love is destructive
For the ego
And Your voice is the only thing
That speaks rebelliously in this world of claiming your own
There is no peace outside if there's nothing within
Love is addictive
For the spirit
And Your voice whispers with a roar
That fire rises up, refills
Place the right king on the throne


Who would've guessed that a band that most people can't understand because the guitars are turned up a little too much and the singer is actually screaming could be writing prophetic songs? I certainly didn't. I found myself listening to a song called "About a Burning Fire" every day on my way to school, instead of the typical worship music because everytime I'd listen to it, the tears would come.

But I wouldn't have guessed. Nope. When I was looking for the "death to the world" I got a little taste of another slice of prophetic worship. I love the randomness of God. You never know what you'll get 'hit' with next.

I would've blindfolded Him....

I watched The Passion of the Christ for the first time last friday and in my mind I was constantly hit with the question, "How could they have looked into His eyes and not known?" I just didn't understand it. And then, I found this little cartoon by a guy named Joe McKeever. Actually, I read one of my friend's blog and she had a link upto it so I decided to check it out. Not sure how I actually got to this particular cartoon, but I did.. I'm sure glad someone else had the same question as I did.

Honestly, you know how you can look into someone's eyes and can just kind of tell what kind of person they are? I mean, you don't have to be an expert to do it. It's like when you meet someone for the first time you look in their eyes and either immediately get this feeling like "oo.. creepy" or like "oh.. nice". Yeah, I know you know. (Big brother is watching.. I always found that show slightly disturbing...)

But how did those soldiers not realize who they were killing? I mean, it was by God's grace that they didn't know what they were doing.

Grace:
3. generosity of spirit: a capacity to tolerate, accommodate, or forgive people
7. gift of God to humankind: in Christianity, the infinite love, mercy, favor, and goodwill shown to humankind by God
8. freedom from sin: in Christianity, the condition of being free of sin, e.g. through repentance to God

I took those from the dictionary on Encarta. (Props to the Ancarta folks! You get 7 points for those answers!)

It's by God's grace anything happens.

One personal example (I have many) took place a few weeks ago. Finals week to be precise. Well, for this story to make sense, you'll have to know that I am a female and with the female gender comes that one week out of the month where the female will engage in a slighty displeasing manner. So basically, since this isn't the animal channel, and no, I do not support PETA (just wanted that out there), I'll tell it like it is. I had both finals on the same day and when I got to school, I started getting cramps. They weren't so bad, so I thought I could live with it. (If you're a guy, you have no idea what I'm talking about but keep reading it'll start to make sense.) Well, I get through my first class and I get to my next Final (psychology, the one that really counted) and my cramps are unbearable to the point of passing out. But I think, "this is the worst part, it'll get better now." It didn't. It got worse. So while I'm trying to focus classical conditioning, I'm also trying not to pass out or throw up on the person sitting in front of me.

When it came down to it, I left within 45 minutes of a 2 hour final. I turned in my test without saying a word of what was going on to my prof. and left.

My first encounter of God's grace was on my way to the car.. He was the only reason I even made it to my car. The second was that my aunt happened to live 30 seconds away and came to drive me to her house until I felt better.

Now the good part...

So I knew that I completely bombed my entire test. I couldn't even remember what was on it and I was heartbroken because nothing like that had ever happened to me before. I'm usually a good test taker and can bluff my was through an essay like nobody's business.. a true car salesman so to speak. I had no choice but to beg my prof. to let me finish my test.

So then next day I went to his office (thank you Jesus that he was actually there) and I explained what had happened, tears and everything, eventhough I promised myself I wouldn't cry. So he got my test out.. looked it over.. and said, "Why don't I just give you a new one.." and with that he ripped up my old one and took me to the testing room. Grace. In just a few seconds I had gone from complete anxiety to total peace. The test ended up being a cake walk, and Mr. Taff will always be remembered in my family.

WOO YEAH WOO YEAH WOO YEAH! I think it's something to cheer for.. Go ahead.. yell a little.. get crazy! YEAHHHHH!!!!

"Over the Pond"

Recently I found this amazing band called The Album Leaf. I had heard one of their songs while i was watching a Nooma video. (If you haven't heard of Nooma, i would highly suggest watching one... but I'll probably post about those later.) I had no idea what the words were, and I had no idea how to find out who this band even was. A little while after hearing them, I totally forgot about the whole thing. And then, about a week ago, I was on Nooma's website and saw that they were releasing a sound track that was comprised of several different songs that have been in their video's. Of course, I was excited because Nooma plays the best Indie bands that absolutely no one had heard of. So I checked out the band list that was really about 3 bands: Brie Stoner, David Vandervelde, and, of course, The Album Leaf... Too bad the Album Leaf just released a record from Sub Pop Records so they weren't featured on the cd. But I did find out that the song that I had heard was called "Over the Pond". So immediately I searched the web and somehow ended up downloading the song to iTunes on accident from the Sub Pop website... sometimes accidents are a good thing..

I listened to this song for probably an hour, over and over and over again. I couldn't figure out the words though. I mean, I can usually figure out the words to most screamo songs so I thought that a soft indie song wouldn't be too hard. Come to find out that that song doesn't have any words in it.

It's true, there aren't any written lyrics for it. All it is, is a nicely played piano and some cool background effects paired with two guys singing non-existant words. More like sounds that are all in the same key. I found this absolutely amazing. I was so drawn to this song for some reason, and I had no clue what it was. It's a very peaceful song, it almost has a healing quality to it... and yet, most people would reject it because it's out of the "norm". Why is that? (More about this topic to follow.)

As I listen to "Over the Pond", I feel so at peace. This song is one of the ultimate forms of expression and creativity. Alot of the time I feel like I can't put my feelings into words so I try to paint them or draw them out, but some of the time I don't feel like I've fully grasped what I had been thinking or what I had felt. Could it be that I have yet to unlock another form of expression? I hope so. I hope that The Album Leaf will be recognized for their great creativity. Many people will reject something because they don't understand it, or because they aren't used to it. I see it at Art Shows all the time. Just remember one thing the next time you see a piece of artwork or hear a song that doesn't sound like your regular Simple Plan song (not that I like them anyways, but I needed an example.), it's not always about talent. Some times people need to express their feelings in different ways. Next time you see a piece of art that you don't like or you think that the arist "lacks talent" so therefore, it's crap, ask yourself if you could've created the same thing if you just sat down and went for it.. Could you have come up with something that different? If you say no, then you have no room to criticize it. On the contrary, try to look at things in a different way and try to enjoy a new point of view every once in a while. It'll be like a thunderstorm after a long dry-spell.

peace.