How Does Music Affect Us?

My family has always liked the band U2. Sure they're old, but they're legit. Bono will forever have a place in my heart as a really amazing musician. If only rock could always be like U2. But aside from their epicness, what I wanted to hit on was something Bono said that really made me think. "Music can change the world because it can change people."

I've been thinking about that a lot lately. Music does change me, that much I can say for sure. When I listen to upbeat, happy music I tend to be in a good mood. When I listen to depressing music I get really sad. And when I listen to screamo/hard rock stuff I tend to be angry or rebellious. To a certain extent. But not only the genre/sound of the music is what changes me, the thing about music that has the biggest effect on me is the lyrics. Just like anything else - movies, books, shows, etc. - what goes into our mind affects what comes out in our life. 


And for a lot of people, music has a much bigger effect on them than anything else, because music is a way of expressing our emotions. 


What we allow to filtrate into our mind will come out in how we live our life. I think that is why Paul says in Phil. 4:8, Whatever things are is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
If we have pure, lovely thoughts that is what will come out in our life. But if, on the other hand, we have depressed, angry, rebellious thoughts, that is what comes out in our life. 


I always wonder why some of my friends like certain bands because they seem so... not fitting into that verse. I don't judge them for the music they enjoy listening to, because I know they are wise and it's their decisions. But I know, at times, I see that music play out in their personalities and I wish I could say something...


How do YOU think music affects us? 


Just be cautious about what you listen to and remember what Bono said,
"Music can change the world because it can change people."

This Post is Amazing and Awesome.

We have a problem. A big problem. A crisis has struck Americans everywhere and no one knows how to cure it. Surely you've heard of it. It's a bad disease known as, "The AmazingAwesome Disease" For those of you who do not get what I mean - this disease is caused by the uncreativity and illiteracy of Americans. Our vocabulary of adjectives has grown smaller and smaller. I have seen it in my family, I have seen it in my friends, I have seen it in strangers at the park. Everyone is catching this very contagious disease.

The problem? The most overused words in America are awesome/amazing. In everyday conversation, almost every sentence will have either one of these two adjectives. You hear it all over, "Oh that is an amazing outfit!", "Dude, you are so awesome!", "My new camera has amazing abilites!" We have fallen captive of this widespread disease.

So what, you may ask, can we do to save the world from this mayhem? Well, as someone who is guilty of excessive awesome usage (but not excessive awesomeness–that I can’t help), I have asked myself this question several times. And have finally made a cure. I call it:

The Amazing Cure guide of Awesomeness

 The following is a list of words I have put together as substitutes for either of these overused 

words.

astonishing
awe-inspiring
awe-struck
beautiful
breathtaking
brilliant
clever
cool
dazzling
epic
excellent
exceptional
exciting
fabulous
fantastical
great
groovy
heart-stopping
humbling
impressive
incredible
ingenious
magnificent
majestic
marvelous
mind-blowing
momentous
moving
out of this world
outstanding
overwhelming
phenomenal
powerful
remarkable
righteous
shazam
sick
simply divine
spectacular
spectagical
staggering
striking
stunning
stupendous
superb
sweet
terrific
the bees’ knees
the bomb
splendiferous
fantasmagorical
wonderful
wonderstriking
wondrous

I suggest you print out many copies of this and when you meet friends that have caught the AA disease you can help cure them. And if you have any other words to add to the list - write them in the comments below!

 

Friendship. Yep. Friendship.

What are Good Friends anyway?

I have been pondering this "dilemna" recently. So many people when introducing or talking about someone will say, "This is my good friend. . . ", "This is my close friend. . . ", "This is my best friend. . . " But what does it all mean anyway? What defines the boundary of a freind vs. a good friend. How do you know when someone is your best friend vs. just good friends? Where does it all start and end? (don't think about it, it'll make your head hurt) 

Many people will say - A friend is someone you know and care about. A good friend is someone you know and care about who knows and cares about you. A close friend is someone who loves you, and is there for you always (and vice versa), and a best friend (this is apparently the best it gets, once you're dubbed this you're in a huge place of honor, I guess) is someone who is all of the above + they know all your deep dark secrets. 

I can say I've gazillions of friends and plenty of good friends. And my parents constantly tease me because when I talk about my friends I always say, "oh my really good friend insert name here . . . " or what not. (by the way - really good friends = close friends) So, I guess I have lots of them too. And as for best friends, I've been told you can only have one best friend. And through the course of my life I've had 3 people that I would dare to call "best friends" still. Although technically I've had plenty. Although the term "best friend" has always been banned in my house. I never understood why until now. This world has messed friendship up big time. Ask anyone what a true friend is and 8 times out of ten you'll get some wacky absurd answer.

Here's the problem. People today think friendship is based on how many secrets you know, how much they can make you smile, how much you'd sacrifice for them. So on and so forth. But really, while that's all good and nice, it isn't the manditory standards and boundaries of friendship. 

So what then is a good friend? Well let's see what God defines friendship as.

Luke 6:31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
Romans 12:10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Out do one another in showing honor.
Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.
2 Kings 2:2 And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.
Ruth 1:16-17 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.”

I see some themes here, Love, Loyalty, Encouragement, and Spiritual growth. 

These are some values God has for friendship. And God's values should always be what we value.

It's easy to get enraptured in secrets, drama, fun, and laughter in friendships. But God has given us the gift of friendship for people to lean on and help us grow. To love and stick with us through thick and thin. Of course our greatest friend is God, but when we are going through trials or are confused, He knows we get lost and don't know what to do and gives us friends to guide us. 

Thankfully, I have been blessed with many of these friends, many people who can give me guidance when I am confused or hurting. Many, many people that love me and I know will always stick with me. 

And it is my prayer that I can be this friend. I also have many friends who don't match up to all of this, but I love them dearly none the less, and at least I can be a good friend to them.

One other fallacy about friendship, just for good measure, is one Christians repeatedly make. We shouldn't have friends that aren't Christians or are not as spiritually mature as us. As it is true that being super close to a non-christian friend can stumble you and probably isn't a good idea. Always remember that God is in charge of the people we meet. If He puts a non-christian person in your life, love them as He would, cherish them and encourage them. If we ignore them, how are they to see the love of the Father? 

But cherish all your friends, they are all precious gifts from the Lord. 

"Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up." Ecclesiastes 4: 9-10 

So to answer the question at the top in fewer words. "A friend is one you can lean to guide you when you are lost, one whom can point you the Lord, and one who will always stand by you." 

Change. . . *sigh*

I have always known change was a part of life. I have always known that people change. Places change. Times change. Everything. . . changes. But I never faced so dramatic I change as I have today.

This week I am visiting Flagstaff, AZ - my home town. It was so fun driving and recognizing all these old buildings. My old church, the old truck stop we would always get ice cream at, our old houses. Everything was, well, old.

I dropped by an old friends house to see how she and her sister were doing and I ended up staying for the afternoon. It was then that I was fully hit with the realization that...they have really changed. The last time I visited, a year and half ago, they were preparing to go to public high school after being home schooled for a long time. At first, it wasn't too drastic, but starting with their language it just went downhill.

At first I was angry, angry at the school that lets kids act like this. Then angry at their parents for letting them go to the school. And lastly angry at them, angry at them for changing. In my fairytale mind I wanted it all to stay the same.
 But them, I had to realize that change is always occurring. I can either hate them for changing and have nothing to do with them.  So no matter how painful it was, I realized that I had to love them and treat them like my friends. That even if we believe some seriously different things - we're all humans. And when I was able to not judge and hate them, and through loving them, I got to have a very good conversation about the Lord with one of the girls.
 One thing though, I wish I could've conveyed was that I have always and will always love both of them.
One of the girls and I have had some not great "bumps" in our friendship and so there was a slightly cold feeling in the air. But, with every shocking thing they told me, I felt like they were anticipating my to react like I had seen a horror movie. But I wanted so badly to tell them. "I told you I long time ago that I would always love you, and that has never changed. I'll always love you. . .no matter what."



As a Christian, if my friends are homosexual, have fowl language, do things completely against my beliefs... I have to love them despite it. I want to love them as I have been loved. Show them the love my Father has bestowed on me. It's as simple as just hanging out with them and showing interest  in their interests. No matter how much they have. . .changed.

If your friends change, no matte how drastically, you have to keep loving them as Christ would.