a new semester

           I spent a weekend with my friend, Chelsee. We had a lot of fun. Talking about music, Anthem Lights, watching music videos and Julian Smith TV. Yeah, that was the first time I've ever seen the latter, but it was pretty hilarious. Maybe I'll post a video sometime.

           This is her doing a cover of Anthem Lights' Follow Your Heart. Pretty awesome, hm? 





            I also got a new guitar! Yay! Maybe I mentioned that before. . . I can't remember now. I'll get some pictures up soon.

            School has gotten harder, but I can tell my professor is trying to ease us into it. She always tries to do that. I guess she doesn't want us to freak out, feel too overwhelmed and give up altogehter. The only people allowed in the music classes are music majors. I think that's a little too limiting, but I guess they want to teach the people who are serious about learning music. Still. So our class was smallish to begin with. Maybe ten, eleven people, or so. Now I think there's only six or seven of us.

           Honestly, I'm still so unsure as to why I'm here doing this. Music. I love it. I promise that. But I'm not sure what I will do with a music degree. Everybody asks me what I want to do. I'm not sure. I just know I really enjoy what I'm learning. I wish I knew the answers to their questions. But for now, all I can say is I want to do what God wants me to do. I want to be where He is, where He leads me. If He wants me to continue with music as my major, I'll do so. If He wants me to switch again, I'll do so. If He wants me to stop going to college altogether, then so be it. Wherever God is, that's where you'll find me.

            I still get frustrated with myself because I have no idea where I'm going. I still worry about the future sometimes. Recently, I've trying hard to give it to God. To take it one day at a time and just honor Him in everything. That is so difficult sometimes. A lot of the times. But God has a plan. And I should leave the details to Him. He'll let me know what I need to know when I need to know it.

         Oh, we are going to see Skillet at the Rock and Worship Road show this Friday! I can't wait. Jamie Grace will be there too. I really enjoyed seeing her at Celebrate Freedom.

         I'll go now. Have a good week.

Switchfoot's The Sound

'Tick Tock' goes the clock

         Anthem Lights did release their new Covers 2 album. Oct. 29th, I think. Their new original album is coming up in the new year. Hurray!

         for King & Country has released a new single. Exciting, yes?

        Everyone is running around like mad because finals are soon. Jury is soon (it's like music major finals). And Christmas? My workplace set up Christmas decorations on Halloween! I'm disgusted with them. What happened to Thanksgiving? I just want to enjoy each day as it comes. Or deal with each day as it comes.

          Rushing is not something I do well. Normally I trip all over myself and make a mess out of everything. Realistically and metaphorically. It's not very pretty. But if you stand still, the world will spin right by you. Time is such an elusive thing.

          Sometimes I have to rethink my priorities. What really matters? Getting As are good. Progressing in my goals like learning more about music and guitar. Finishing the first draft to my book. Doing well at work is good too.

         Even though there's hardly enough time for all that. Isn't it more important to take time out for God? To really spend time with Him. And (maybe this sounds weird) let Him love you? To make time for other people? Family. Friends. People, in general?

         I think I've been slacking in some priorities.

      For a little change, how about some Steven Curtis Chapman? Old and new songs. Variety everything up, right? :D

         

random stuff

           Did you know-

           Anthem Lights will have a new album out soon?! No, I don't know the exact date. But the fact that they are. Original music by Anthem Lights. Yay!

           Did you know-
           They're also coming out with/ or already have come out with a second Covers album? That's pretty awesome too. :)

           Did you know-

           That I really don't know any of these release dates because the only way I even know this stuff is because I 'like' them on Facebook? Heh, I'm not on Facebook very often. (Who came up with the term 'like'? It sounds so ridiculous.)

           Did you know-

           For King & Country is also preparing album numero two?! I absolutely cannot wait, people! They are actually playing in Round Rock, TX this Saturday. Unfortunately, I will probably not be there. But I hope they have a great time in Texas anyhow. I've been listening to them a lot lately. And Switchfoot.

           But for now, I'm waiting for the computer to load some Anthem Lights songs.

           That's all for today. Consider yourself updated. Well, half updated. . . since, um, I'm didn't give you all the information. *cough* Sorry. :D

love and brokenness

Everyone is broken. It doesn't matter if someone's brokenness seems less dramatic than another person's. They're still broken. 

 Because everyone longs to be loved and wants to give love. But we're human. We mess up. We don't know the right way to love. But we try anyways with broken people left in our wake. 

We try so hard and search forever. But the only One who can show us how to love rightly, is also the only One who can satisfy our longing to be loved. He is the origin of real love. He's also the only One most people reject their whole life.

We want love. But we don't want to give in. Because we've been broken so many times before by false love. 

We don't have to afraid of God's love though. It's the real thing.Everyone is.

'Give this life away'

              Sorry I haven't been posting. I'm not sure what to post exactly. And I've been busy with school and trying to get enough rest.

            But I don't know. I haven't been spending enough time with God. I try. I read my Bible in the morning. I try to really think about what I've read and how it applies to me today. But sometimes I feel so drained and empty. So far away.

           And then I wonder what I'm doing anything for. Why have goals? Why try to accomplish something? Because I can't accomplish anything of worth outside of God. The biggest and best accomplishment is living for Him. Even if nobody knows (though somebody would if I really am living for Him), He knows and that's what matters.

           God is the only one worth living for. I just feel far from Him right now. I need to refocus on Him.




By the way this Anthem Lights' new song soon to be in their second album! Excitement all around, right?




          

Estatic

           I had something important to tell you yesterday. But it wasn't important enough to interrupt the day of blog silence in reverence of 9/11. You can read about the moment of silence at my college here.

           So today's news:

           Anthem Lights has reached their goal! They can make their new album! Isn't it exciting? They also reached over 1,000 backers (1,072), so they will, if I understand correctly, have a live stream of one of their songs. I'm mostly excited about the album though. I prayed about it when it came to mind. And I wonder what it was like for them? It had to be a big jump of faith. The whole ride through.

           And now to celebrate:

           So maybe the last one was The Muppets, but they always bring a good show when celebrating. Right?

                                                

Hop in the time machine

           I stumbled on this while looking through an Anthem Lights playlist, and found it rather funny. I'm sorry, but the beginning really makes me think of Blues Clues for some reason. :) It's back when they were the Yellow Cavaliers. I didn't know of them then. My friend, Chelsee, told me about them in a letter. And now, when it comes to Anthem Lights, and music in general, we 'get each other' when everyone else is like, "You two are weird." Perhaps. But weird is better than boring and no music.

"When I look at the stars"

I've been having a hard time really focusing on God lately. Talking to Him. Spending time with Him. Drawing closer to Him. On my way home from work, while listening to Anthem Lights' Can't Get Over, I wanted to just slow down and give God my time.

           I told Him, "You just feel so far right now."

           And it was like I could feel His presence with me, and He was saying, "When I feel far, I have never been nearer. I am the only thing you will ever need. I will always be your strength and keep-going. I will never leave you. And I will be close no matter you do or don't do." It was like a hug from God.

           Right now, so much just doesn't make sense. And after I practiced guitar tonight, I was feeling rather defeated. My guitar instructor is trying to help me improve my playing by showing me a different way to hold my guitar and to have better posture. He plays classical guitar, so the way he holds his guitar is different than most guitarists.

           I've tried his way. It feels awkward. But that could be just because I'm not used to it. When I practice I try alternating between his way and the way I usually do it. But it's too soon for me to tell which way is better for me. I really feel like I'm getting nowhere. I can't see many improvements in my playing since I've been working on the F chord and Forgiven by Skillet.

           Then I opened the back door to bring my dog inside. The stars were beautiful. I love the clear night sky. It was like God was telling me, "I made those for you. To light the darkness. To bring you awe and remind you of my might. That I'm never far away. That I am what you need me to be."

           And now that I think of it, I prayed just this morning that God would show me His love where it could be found. And He did; His love was in the stars, in the car ride home, in an Anthem Lights song. . . and a Switchfoot song.

           Right after I closed the door I went to the computer to find a song. Stars by Switchfoot. :) I didn't know all the lyrics or what it was called then, but it didn't take long to find out. It really describes how I've been feeling lately.

          And I even found a wonderful acoustic version. :)

        
Thank You, God, for this beautiful day. Thank You for opening my eyes to Your love. Thank You for being here. For loving me no matter. Who is man that You are mindful of him? Thank You for caring. It's very humbling. I love You back.

Fight Forever

Anthem Lights has a new single out! Fight Forever.

           Okay, so I'm a late in posting this. But that's okay. I love Fight Forever. Anthem Lights have been doing a lot of covers recently. And I like Best Thing. But this one's different. This one is like our battle cry as Christians. Well, sort of. When I think 'battle cry,' my mind's dictionary doesn't flip to 'pop song to challenge enemy.' Hm, no. Try 'discordant sound to challenge enemy.' But we'll call it a poetic battle cry (since my brain insists on being geeky).

            I love the lyrics! They are powerful. Motivating. It's one of my favorite songs they've written. Tying with 'Can't Get Over You,' 'Where the Light Is,' and 'Hide Your Love Away' (so I can't pick an absolute favorite, must I apologize?).

           The music video. I enjoyed the beginning of it. It was really well done. But, well. . . As a Christian and a novelist-in-training, I'm consistently being warned about how cliched most Christian media is. And one of those cliches is toning down just how dark evil is. Because we don't want to see how bad evil is. It's not clean. It's messy and wrong. And we tone it down to Noah in this cute little boat that floated on water that rose higher than mountains (maybe higher than mountains if you're not like me). When, really, Noah's ark resembled more a giant box than a boat. And it stormed. The first time it ever rained, and the clouds let it rip. Lightning, thunder, tsunamis, hurricanes, everything.

            If we don't show the full force of evil, than how can we show the full force of God's love? If evil and sin aren't that bad. If it isn't that powerful, than when God saves us from it, well, He really must not be that powerful either. And it seems maybe we didn't even need Him. But none of that is true. Evil is powerful. It's sinister. It's bondage. It's sorrow. It's seething dark. I'm not saying we should take joy in it or be over-zealous in portraying it. But we should be honest about it. Realistic. Truthful. The stars don't shine at twilight. You don't need stars at twilight. They shine at midnight, at the darkest time. When you need to see. And every time I attend a Christian writers conference, it's jammed into my head more and more. To be honest about both the dark and light.

          So I was a little uneasy when they fought the shadows with dodge balls. It was effective. It got the message of the song through. And I can understand why they wouldn't want to show, like, a real battle or anything but. . . I don't know. I felt it down played the impact of the song. But it's just me. Certainly I'm being over-sensitive.

           All the same, my love for Anthem Lights has not diminished. I still love their songs. And I think their lyrics are very powerful, and courageous since being so unmistakably Christian is looked down on. And not only the lyrics, but the music is also excellent. They stand out. They have talent and aren't afraid to use it for Jesus.
           And they usually are rather honest about sin and evil in their lyrics. All the time. Circles. I love that song. It's so accurate about a Christian's life, about my life. And what about Freedom Into Slavery? I love how realistic they are about what a Christian's life is like. I wish Christian books were more like that. Maybe the genre wouldn't be so look down on if it were more honest. And maybe that's why I'm slightly disappointed. Because they usually do show evil for what it is. And I expected it again. That's okay. It was just the music video. The song itself is still one of my favorites.

           And I must say I like this lyric video best out of all of them. :)

          

                                                                              
   

Thrilling!

           Tuesday I wondered when my Anthem Lights CD would arrive. I suspected it to be another week. But I was so excited; I couldn't stop thinking about it throughout the day. Waiting isn't usually fun, but this waiting was. And when we got home that evening, I checked the mail- and- and-

           It was there! The Anthem Lights CD. I was ecstatic I went around the house telling my family,

           "Guess what? My Anthem Lights CD is here!"

                                                                                 

 
            I told everyone. Even my brother, who didn't hear me because he was sleeping. (No, I didn't have the heart to wake him.)

           I also ordered a cool Hide Your Love Away wristband.

                                                                                                     
    
           Just thought I'd let you know. :) It's awesome, by the way.

Re-appearing

I'm sorry I've been gone so long.

           I really have little excuse. Except that I've been rather burned-out. My mind is every where right now. And I can seem to focus like I used to.

           The other day I picked up a book at the library on teaching yourself the guitar. What I didn't realize was that it was for classical guitar. I had no idea what classical guitar was exactly, but I was pretty sure it wasn't what I normally listen to. All the same, I'm all for trying something new. Especially if it has to do with the guitar.

           So today I typed in 'classical guitar' to see if I could find out what I'd be. . . attempting to learn. It's absolutely beautiful! I don't know if I can do it. But I definitely like it. It sounds amazing. Every individual sound, you can hear it.

           An example:

         
                                          (the Pink Panther-classical guitar, by Michael Lucarelli)


           On another note, I finally found where I can actually buy Anthem Lights Covers album in CD format. There was a link to their online store under their music videos on YouTube. :P Should've figured that out sooner. Oh, well. I'm excited now. :)

           I also finally finished The Fellowship of the Ring. I wrote a post on it at my writing blog here.
                                        

Oh, sweet madness! and an Anthem Lights song

source

So my best friend has also decided to commit to learning to play the guitar. As of yesterday. Her brother has showed her a few chords, like, years and years ago. So she knows a few things. Today she came over and we played and practiced and were all over google and youtube learning things. All. Day. Long.

           It's been total madness!

           We did bake cookies though. So, small break, yes. Small break.

           One day. Two or three songs. Too many chords. Brain-over load! How does she remember all this stuff?!

          I'm glad though. Really, I am. It's nice to have someone to play with. It's motivating too. I learn something and then I show her. And then she learns something and she shows me. It's very, very motivating actually. I've been wanting someone to practice with.

          Now I have someone. In my best friend. Who can't put the guitar down for anything.

          Oh, I was going to take a picture of my guitar (his name is Antony Rogue, by the way, and, yes, Antony, not Anthony). But the camera has gone A.W.O.L. Very rude of it. It will return. . . some time.

           My brain is close to mush. Sleep is what it needs. And better nutrition than chocolate chip cookies. It needs to write also. When I don't write in my WIP, I've realized that's when I start making up odd stories, that aren't quiet legitimate stories.

           For instance, I texted my mom. While she was with her friends at dinner. I do believe I made a nuisance of myself. Hey, I had to amuse myself somehow. Word for word:

           me: Oh, wonderful an wise mommy, where might the megamind movie be (since you are the only one who knows where anything is in this house)?

           mom: I don't know

          me: I was hoping for a more specific answer. You can't even give us a map or anything?

          me: You are holding it for ransom. I'm sure of it.

          me: Well, let me tell you, oh, wonderful and wise mommy, we will not pay your ransom demands, no matter how petty they are, in the name of principle.

          me: Instead we will! We will- uh, simply, welll. . .Go without watching the movie.
                 Yeah, that's the best i've got.

          mom: It's possible in the van  (gives me loads to go on, doesn't she?)
   
          me: And you call that an ANSWER!!!!?
                No. No fulfilled ransom demands for you. We are quite content with our treasure planet, thank you.


          So if you think me rather odd, it's been like that all day. Unfortunately for my mother dearest.

          On the side though, I've been considering changing the background and layout of the blog. As well as the title. "little nothings" seems fairly popular. Along with my username. It's kind of popular too. :P So what do you think? Any ideas about the coming change?
For the fun of it, an Anthem Lights song. Because I like Anthem Lights and, well, it's been awhile since there's been one on here. And I will learn a B chord. And I will learn this song.

Can't Get Over You by Anthem Lights

         

                 

My guitar and the Anthem Lights Covers album

           I'm a little sad. I still have not been able to purchase Anthem Lights' new album, Covers. Our small town doesn't have it. I've considered purchasing it from their site. That might be better. I'll look into that in a second here.

           I would love to go to an Anthem Lights concert. That would be awesome. I never been. A friend of mine told me about them. So I youtubed Anthem Lights. And (obviously) I found them marvelous. Or I wouldn't be going on and on about them. :)  Anyhow. Maybe I'll end with one of their songs. I have a hard time choosing a favorite. It used to be Where the Light is. That is an awesome song. But Can't Get Over You is really good too. I like the acoustic version best. All their acoustic versions are amazing! I wish I could play guitar like that.

           Speaking of which. My guitar. My beaten-up, needs-a-case-but-I'm-considering-getting-a-new-guitar-instead, guitar. (I really don't know why I'm specifying which guitar, since I only have one?) It's string broke Friday. The bottom one. The other E. (Why is there two E strings? I still haven't figured that out.)

          So I went to get new strings and while I was at it I asked the guy at the music shop if they can lower the action on my guitar. (It's amazing our town even has a music shop.) He said, "Yeah, we do that all the time." So I'm going to take it to get the action lowered tomorrow. I'm so excited. I'm hoping that will help me with the F chord. I've been trying to play it for a month or so now and still haven't gotten it down. I was wondering if it was because my action was so high and if lower it would help. I don't know if it would help. And I don't really want my ability to play an F chord (or any chord) to rely on the height of the action, but perhaps when I get better, it won't matter at all.

 

         But I'm even more excited, because then I'll be able to practice again! The music shop guy said I should wait to put the strings on after they lower the action, because they normally put new strings on it anyways since they have to take the old ones off. Which is nice. Except for the part about being unable to play guitar all weekend. And I had planned to get a lot of practice in. *sighs* Oh, well. Only tomorrow stands in my way now.

           And don't misunderstand me. I just started learning to play guitar. So am I good? No. My fingers are still clumsy. And I have a hard time knowing if I have the rhythm of a song down or not. Or recognizing chords by ear. Can't do that either. But I will get there. One day. . .

           Okay, back to Anthem Lights. Actually, I think I'll give you the In the Light. It's a cover featuring Jamie Grace. It's beautiful though; I like it better than the original. And one day I hope I can play that song on my guitar. I'm not sure if they have it on album or not. But here it is In the Light covered by Anthem Lights and Jamie Grace.