From "Jesus Calling."

From the book "Jesus Calling"...

March 19th.
"I speak to you from the depths of your being. Hear me saying soothing words of Peace, assuring you of My Love. Do not listen to voices of accusation, for they are not from Me. I speak to you in love-tones, lifting you up. My spirit convicts cleanly, without crushing words of shame. Let the Spirit take charge of your mind, combing out tangles of deception. Be transformed by the truth that I live within you.
The Light of My Presence is shining upon you, in beneditions of Peace. Let My Light shine in you; don't dim it with worries or fears. Holiness is letting me live through you. Since I dwell in you, you are fully equiped to be holy. Pause before responding to people or situations, giving My Spirit space to act through you. Hasty words and actions leave no room for Me; this is atheistic living. I want to inhabit all your moments - gracing your thoughts, words, and behavior."

Romans 8:1-2; Colossions 1:27; 1 Corithians 6:19

I needed this.

Biola Worship Community

This past Friday I went on a retreat with the rest of the Biola Chapel Worship community. It was a lot of fun; we went down to Laguna, had a photo scavenger hunt, ate pizza overlooking the beach, and then had some training and teaching at the Little Church by the Sea.

Overall, the retreat was a success in every way, and I want to share a few thoughts on the wisdom we received that day.

The worship team at the church is great. They LOVE old gospel and folk music, so their regular instruments include: Banjo, accordian, mandolin, acoustic guitar and organ. Their reason behind this (apart from being in a small room where larger electric instruments could be overwhelming) is found in the roots of folk music. Its is true that folk/acoustic music was born out of communities, large and small, in living rooms, coffee shops, and parks. Its all about hearing those around you sing whether or not they have the perfect pipes to go with it. In a few words, leading musical worship in this style prompts people to sing more. I know it sounds kinda crazy, but i've seen it happen. There is an overwhelming sense of joy and rejoicing that comes with this music. Also, it allows you to hear those around you, which makes worship so much more community based.

Secondly, the pastor who led the evening began talking to us about our perceptions of the role of congregational worship. We all agreed that it prepares our hearts, and allows us to focus and communicate with God. But, then he brought up a whole new aspect. He went on to remind us that worship (offering ourselves as a sacrifice) is life-transforming. When we engage in music and worship we are soaking in an attitude that changes us. Its not a one time act of praise, but it continues on. What God does in our hearts at that moment should carry on. We are sitting in God's presence and learning more of his attributes that he wants us to display.

I hope that made sense. I kinda just wanted to write it out and get it down so I could start to grasp it more. Hope you find it helpful :)

so good.

I know its been a while. I am sorry :(

But listen to this new-ish song from Eisley. It was released late last year, but I didnt know it was out! I have been missing out.

The Christmas Food :)

I had SUCH GOOD FOOD for Christmas... it was amazing... And now I will share it with you.

So starting with various cheeses...

+ some noodles

+ some yummy marinara with italian sausage

= My mom's homemade lasagna that is the BOMB!

Then we have dessert. Mmmmmm.....

Butter cookies I made with Orange frosting


Snow man coconut cupcakes



and the final coffee and cupcake :)



All this to say... I am really full!

Christmas Eve with the Eder family

Christmas Eve

So I went out with my mom to get some last minute groceries for tonight and I could not believe how many people are still out frantically shopping till the last minute. As I sat in the car waiting for my mom I just watched to faces passing by, few of them having any joy...

And as I watched the people, I heard playing over the speakers, "Joy to the World, the Lord has come. Let earth receive her King."

If only earth would receive Him, they would know that all the last minute strife isnt worth it. Thats not what this is about.

Merry Christmas everyone.

watch this.

She's still got it

In memory of my post last year on December 8, 2008, I would just like to say....

She's still got it

I love you Beyonce.

Disney before the Holidays

So we took one last trip to Disneyland before the Holidays cheer touches down and makes itself at home for the next few months. There definitely were touches of Christmas around the park, just ready to bust out, but not in its full glory yet. We decided to take pictures with the Characters because we were there so early in the day, but that only lasted for about 5 minutes and Minnie happened to be the first thing we saw.

Stay tuned for some Christmas-afied Disneyland coming soon!!!!

The fifth member of the quartet

I saw one of the cutest sites at Disneyland recently. The barbershop quartet on main street was doing their normal routine, so in typically I would just walk by while still enjoying the music. However, this time around something else caught my eye. It was the most adorable little girl who was right up in the performance and loving every minute of it. The best part was the the guys were going right along with it by smiling back, singing to her, and pointing her out during the show. I am sure she will remember it as one of her most exciting Disneyland trips. Here's an idea of what I saw...

San Diego

Johnny and I took a little road trip down to San Diego in place of our Seattle trip and hit up some great spots...

To start off, we went to the Taylor factory, since I just recently got my NEW GUITAR!!!! They give daily factory tours, and it was pretty awesome to see how the whole process works. If you have any interest in guitars, I would recommend it. The only negative was that our tour guide had REALLY heavy breathing and we were all wearing headphones throughout the tour to hear the information at all stages... it gotta a little annoying, but then i

t just got funny. I played this beautiful 12 string at the end of the tour and broke one of its many strings... I guess the sign that it wasn't for me. Then Johnny accidently took his "all-access badge" so we took pictures with it as proof. haha

After the tour we got dinner at Corner Bakery, which was fabulous, and headed into downtown to find this incredible dessert shop that had been highly recommended by my good friend Adrie. It is called Extraordinary Desserts.

They have a beautifully quaint location that has amazing desserts... in fact they truly are extraordinary. We decided to order the chocolate bread pudding with chocolate chip ice cream. They also had an amazing tea collection, which I was a little more excited about than Johnny.

Overall it was a wonderful day, and very relaxing and nice to get away from school :) I want to definitely try and go again, and maybe next time hit the ZOO!

Josiah

This past week, my family lost an incredibly wonderful person; my cousin Josiah. He died in a car accident and I am now in Tennessee with my family. I cant even begin to explain what has taken place over the past few days, but what I can say is that God is SO good. Like SO good. I mean this has opened up a whole new part of my life that puts a whole new meaning to "God is good." I can write more about it later. But the reason for the post was to share a song and really the whole service from Sunday. The link to watch the service is here. And here are the lyrics to the first song that make me cry every time:

We can hear it growing louder

Songs from every nation

Rising to your throne

Saints in every generation

Singing for Your glory

Telling what You've done

From the north and south

We are crying out

There is hope in Jesus name

You're Amazing God

You're Amazing God

You can bear the weight of every heavy heart

You can heal the pain

You can clean the stain

You can turn our tears into songs of praise

You're Amazing God

Beauty rises from the ashes

Sorrow turns to gladness

When our God is near

You speak light into our darkness

You heal the broken hearted

You wipe away our tears

Songs of praise surround us

Songs of praise surround us

Hear it growing louder

We are growing louder

Again, God is so good.

RED CROSS

Today I went to to donate blood at the Red Cross for the first time. I was incredibly nervous because the thought of taking all that blood out and the needle being in my arm for so long... well it just made me a little anxious. But the more I thought about, the less I needed to freak out. Give blood is not THAT big of a deal. Plus, every pint of blood you donate can be used by 3 different people and some patients rely on new blood daily. So I got myself all psyched once I was inside, went into my room to answer all the weird questions like whether or not I have had sex with a gay man (again, weird) and realized... I forgot my ID. So, I couldn't give blood today :( But I am going to go bad next week which just so happens to be KLOS week at the RED CROSS. There is tons of food, the radio station is there aaannnnddd donors get two free tickets to either a Journey concert or a Deff Lepord and Cheap Trick Concert. So those are pretty cool pluses. But I think I could definitely get in the routine of donating blood every 58 days :)

I encourage everyone to think about donating blood at the Red Cross. You can make an appointment and find out more HERE!

VBS: Crocodile Dock

During the month of July I am serving at 2 different VBS's (Vacation Bible Schools). The first one just ended today. It was called "Crocodile Dock" and it focused on not being afraid. I was part of the beloved Bayou Band that consisted of Billy Bob, Margi May, Peppermint Patty, Willy John and myself (Emmy Jean).The week was a lot of fun and it was great to see all the kids singing and dancing for Jesus.


'

Cow Appreciation Day

Cow appreciation day at Chic-Fil-A. I attempted to dress up two little ones as cows so they could receive free combo meals at Chic-Fil-A. Only one of them let me finish the costume, but we still took them and had a great time.

If my heart is Overwhelmed

I heard this song at Rock Harbor about a month ago, and I cant stop listening to it. Sadly, the only place I can find it is on youtube. So here it is!

Here are the lyrics for the chorus:
Love came down and rescued me
Love came down and set me free
I am Yours
I am forever Yours
Mountain high or valley low
I sing out remind my soul
I am Yours
I am forever Yours

Samoyed... the cutest puppy ever

This is the cutest dog I have ever seen. I LOVE IT! Its called a Samoyed and they grow up to become big and beautiful, but they are just the cutest puppy ever! I saw one for the first time in The Proposal.

Watch a scene with the puppy here.

Psalm 15

Here's a good one:

Psalm 15 (NKJ)

¹ LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle?
Who may dwell in Your holy hill?
² He who walks uprightly,
And works righteousness,
And speaks the truth in his heart;
³ He who does not backbite with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend;
⁴ In whose eyes a vile person is despised,
But he honors those who fear the LORD;
He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
⁵ He who does not put out his money at usury,
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be moved.

Psalm 15 (NIV)

¹ LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary?
Who may live on your holy hill?

² He whose walk is blameless
and who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from his heart

³ and has no slander on his tongue,
who does his neighbor no wrong
and casts no slur on his fellowman,

⁴ who despises a vile man
but honors those who fear the LORD,
who keeps his oath
even when it hurts,

⁵ who lends his money without usury
and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things
will never be shaken.

Psalm 15 (the Message)

¹ God, who gets invited to dinner at your place?

How do we get on your guest list?
² "Walk straight,
act right,
tell the truth.
^3-4 "Don't hurt your friend,
don't blame your neighbor;
despise the despicable.
⁵ "Keep your word even when it costs you,
make an honest living,
never take a bribe.

"You'll never get

blacklisted

if you live like this."

New Moon

So last night I watched Twilight with my sisters and grandma because grandma has never seen it. As I was watching it, this being probably the 10th time, I realized I was over this one and was ready for the next. The preview for New Moon was just released a few weeks ago and since then I have come to realize that I just can't wait. So last night I officially started reading the Twilight books (skipping book 1 completely) and I got through 100 pages before I went to bed... I'm hooked.

Don't judge me.

homeward bound

Being at home is so interesting. After living at school for the past year and a half, living with my family makes me realize that I really am becoming independant. And this realization isn't just based on wanting to go where I want whenever i want because its what I am used to. I am just seeing how my family works without me, how I am capable of making my own decision, and even sometimes how the decisions I make are more sensible than my parents' (don't tell them I said that haha). I will only be here for a month, but I know that it will be a BIG month of learning to be part of a family again. Pray for me :)

ps. i love that movie. All I can think of is when Sassy falls down the waterfall...sadest moment of my childhood.