Questions?

Hey guys!
I am super excited because this is my 98th post! Which means I'm almost at 100! I know i don't have a lot of readers, but I would just really like to do a Q & A type thing. Even if it's only a few questions, I just love answering questions. So, if you're reading this, then please come up with a question and leave a comment below :) I would really appreciate it and gladly answer it.  Even if I only get 1, I will answer it for my 100th post :) I would love to have more than one though :)
So, ask anything you'd like. Things about me? What I enjoy doing, etc.  Things about music? Songs, bands, music videos, etc.  Questions about anything. I don't even care how random it is. Just ask away. More than one if you want :) So, please comment and I will post my answers for my 100th blog post!
Thanks guys!
*Amy

P.S. This is not just a one-time thing. If you ever have any questions, you can always comment and I will reply.

P.S.S. Even if you do not have a blog, you can STILL comment- you can even do it anonymously. :)

Like A Butterfly

I can never find the right words to start a blog. I thought that might be a good start :)
So, I've been searching for pictures... not much is coming up. But I didn't want to make you wait any longer. So, I started looking through the 11,139 (exact) pictures on my computer. I found a lot of pictures of butterflies. Well, like usual, that got me thinking. I think of two main things. One, how God is like a butterfly and two, how we should be more like butterflies.

1. Butterflies tend to fly around our mini garden in front of our house a lot. One day, I spent a little while watching them and it was a great joy. I just found something on the internet and it said, "What purpose do butterflies serve for humans?" The answer that someone gave said this, "I don't know the scientific answer, but have you ever seen a butterfly and not felt even a little bit happier?" I really like that answer. When watching butterflies carelessly fly around and around, you just tend to smile. Well, I do. Not sure about everyone else. So, I was thinking about God. If we take the time to think about Him and His amazing love for us, don't we always just feel a little bit happier? I don't know about you, but when I think about how much God loves me and when I think about all the things He has done for me, I always feel happier. There's a new BarlowGirl song that says, "Our worlds collide, I'm lost in time, Heaven kisses me tonight. Your heart with mine, it beats in time, now I know why I'm alive." When I listen to that song and I think about my relationship with my Holy Father, I always feel happier. I know it's not the same for everyone, but when we have that deep relationship with God, then we will feel happier when we think about Him and His abundant love. That small butterfly that flies around our flowers can bring a smile to our face. Well, if a butterfly can do that, then imagine what God can do :)

2. The second thing I see in butterflies is their lack of fear. There are lots of animals, bugs, etc. that run away when you get near them. If you see a cockroach and try to kill it, it runs away. That's a normal impulse for insects and animals. But butterflies are different. When I was sitting on my porch one day, trying to get a picture of a butterfly, they flew all around me. They weren't scared of me. I am, of course, way bigger than them, but they're not frightened. I was so surprised when I sat on the porch as a butterfly flew into my camera lens. (Too bad, my finger was too slow) I was surprised when I walked into the yard and yellow butterflies swarmed around me. Those small, defenseless creatures are not scared of me. I think that this is how we need to be in our lives. I'm not saying we're all scared of people, but we all have fears. One of the most common fears among people is our fear to make mistakes. Our fear to be wrong. I have this like many others. But maybe, like butterflies, we should be less scared. God is bigger and stronger than all those fears we have and that's what makes Him so much more amazing. We're all going to make mistakes. We're all going to be wrong sometimes, but we don't have to be afraid of that. Just like the butterflies aren't afraid of me, I don't have to be afraid of being wrong. In our weakness, God is strong. We are like butterflies, flying through this life. We're small and weak, but we don't have to be scared. We don't have to be afraid of those bigger than us, we don't have to be afraid of failing because God is strengthening us every day.

I'm not saying we have to fly through life carelessly, but we can walk through this life, knowing that in Christ we are strong and knowing that in Christ, no fear can break us. That's the power of our Father.

*Amy :) (A weak, scared fearless butterfly continuously getting stronger.)

'Let's Dance'

Sorry, I haven't written in awhile. I will post a new picture soon. Maybe today. But I was just listening to this song like literally a minute ago and the lyrics are really great.  I looked this song up because I liked the tune. It's fun to listen to.  The band is Hawk Nelson. I've heard some of their other songs and I kind of liked them but I was never crazy about them. Anyways, when I read the lyrics to this song, I was surprised at how good they were. It's stuff I talk about all the time. So, I thought I'd post the lyrics and also a link for the song:

'Let's Dance' by Hawk Nelson. Click *HERE* for song.

And here are the lyrics:

They teach us how to talk, they'll teach us how to walk
They'll teach us how to dance just like this
They'll teach us how to dress in nothin' but the best
It's all about success

Why do we fill our heads
With these things that all make no sense
We're no different from the rest
We're all just tryin' to shake this mess

And I don't wanna look inside myself cause
Then I'll have to change somethin' else and
I don't want to live, like someone else I'm
Happy in my skin, bein' myself
Let's dance

They teach us how to roll, make em lots of dough
Money is the god we work for
Keep up with the style, this artificial smile
Will only last a while



I really love the line that says "I don't want to live like someone else. I'm happy in my skin, being myself."  I always talk about just being the person that God created you to be and not worrying about what anyone else thinks. This song really describes that perfectly. "This artificial smile will only last awhile." It's true.  We can't keep hiding behind our imperfections.  We can't keep living behind this fake smile and cover.  We are who we are. We don't have to change to gain approval from people.  We already have all the approval we need, from God. Nobody can change who we are. That's just the way we were made.  Why live our lives constantly changing for the people around us? Let's just be happy in our skin, being ourselves :)


New Picture coming soon, I promise :)


*Amy

A Light That Shines Brighter

I kind of really need to blog so I'll go ahead and post another 'Picture Of The Week' for you.  Yesterday, we went and visited some of our friends at a campsite where they were spending the weekend. I took some really good pictures, and this one in particular I am going to talk about.  So, yes, this is another picture that I took. 

I've taken more pictures like this before, but I didn't start thinking about this until now.  What I think is cool about this picture is the sun shining through the trees. I'm sure we've all heard the song or expression that says, "There's a light at the end of this tunnel."  That's kind of what I see in this picture.  The trees represent all those things in our life that are obstacles or problems.  Things we think that we'll never get through or things that seem to block our minds from everything else in life.  The beauty of this picture is that the sun shines through those obstacles. The sun shines through all those things in our life that we hate.  Those trees are just like all the problems that we face every day throughout our lives.  They stand tall and hover over us, making us believe that we can't get past them. They make us think that we'll never see anything better.  BUT like the light at the end of the tunnel, there's also a sun shining through those trees.  God's beauty shines through our lives just like this.  All those problems and obstacles don't compare to that light that shines through them.  God's love is bright and beautiful.  God's love and beauty can overpower anything "ugly" in our lives.  Those problems or trees can stand as tall and powerful as they want, but God's light will still find a way through. That's the power and beauty of our God.  Nothing can hide His love from us. We can't do anything to lose it either.  That's what the love of a Father looks like.  It looks like a bright light that will shine through and brighter than anything!

*Amy :)

Stop Living For People

I have to admit, I keep up with celebrity news. Jon & Kate, Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers, all of them. I read their tweets and search for their news. If you haven’t been living under a rock for the past few weeks, then you know of the tragedy that occurred… Miley Cyrus deleted her twitter account! Ok, maybe I exaggerated when I said ‘tragedy.’ But that’s not the point. I read Miley’s tweets and I saw it as a way for her to connect with her fans. So, at first, I’ll confess, I was a little disappointed that she deleted it. After all, I’m extremely nosy! But I wasn’t surprised. After the world of Miley fans broke down, Miley herself posted a video on YouTube explaining her reasons. She even made a little rap for us, full on with background dancers. Out of the whole rap explanation, the one line that caught my attention the most, Miley said this: “I stopped living for moments, and started living for people….. I ain’t living for tabloids, I’m living for me.” Miley mentions that everything she typed and everything she did was turned into news by gossip sites. Who wouldn’t want out of that? But those 2 lines that I quoted can apply to more than just Miley. One of the biggest problems in our world today is the fakeness of the people. It seems like every day, we change ourselves more and more to impress the people around us. We stop living for ourselves and we stop living for the moments, and instead we start living for people. In this world, finding acceptance is extremely hard. No matter how hard we try, we just can’t seem to be allowed to be ourselves. There’s always something we have to change about ourselves to be accepted by the people around us. This is how we ‘live for people.’ It takes time to realize that that really doesn’t matter at all. We have to live for ourselves and be who we are.(When I say this, I don't mean in an egoistical, self-centered way, but in a way where we are who God created us to be and we live that way, happy with ourselves.) We have to open our eyes and live as the person that God created us to be without trying to change to earn acceptance from people. Probably my all time favorite verse in the bible is Romans 12:2. In this verse, God tells us not to conform to the patterns of this world. We have to learn that God made us in an incredibly special way, and we don’t have to change anything about ourselves for him. If people don’t accept you the way you are, then that may be their problem, not yours. Being who you are and accepting yourself that way is hard, but worth it. Nobody can change who you are and nobody can tell you to change who you are. God made us all so special and the love he has for each one of us will not change, ever. We have to stop living for people and start living for ourselves. This world isn’t about being liked or accepted, but more about being the best you that you can be and not worrying about changing for anyone else. Like Miley said goodbye to twitter and lame gossip sites, we should say goodbye to acceptance and identity fights.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:2

Amy :)

'A Beautiful Mess'

I'm making up for my long absence by posting another 'Picture Of The Week.'
I've been wanting to use a picture that I took myself, so I am doing that now. I took these pictures a little less that 2 weeks ago. My guitar is my model :)


I came up with this post when I was looking at all my pictures after I took them. This is originally my Mom's guitar, but I use it. When you first look at these pictures, you can see that this guitar is obviously not in the best shape. It's pretty old. You can see dents, scratches and chipped paint. The strings are held on to the guitar by beads that I found in my room, and some of the tuning knobs are breaking. All of this proves that this guitar is... beat up. But, under all of these imperfections, there is something you can't see. Something more important than the appearance. Something beautiful. This is what comes out of the guitar. Regardless of the old, beat-up shape, the sound that this guitar makes is beautiful, not perfect, but beautiful. Aren't we the same way? On the outside we're beat up. Our appearances show dents, scratches and imperfections. Why? Because we're not perfect. We're messy. Our outsides show this. There is a song by Matthew West and it has a line in it that says, "You're the one who looks at me, and sees who I was meant to be. More than just this beautiful mess." I love this line, because we're all like this. We are a beautiful mess, but God sees the beauty inside of that mess. Beyond our scratches, beyond our dents, and beyond our imperfections, there is something greater and something more beautiful inside of us. In our hearts, there is something different, something that is far better than all those bruises that we focus our lives on. This is the love of Christ. The love of God that is in our hearts far surpasses everything that is on the outside. That love travels far beyond any of those imperfections. Just like my guitar. The beautiful noise that comes out of that old, beat-up piece of wood is far greater than any of those dents and scratches on the outside. None of us are perfect. We weren't created to be perfect. But those imperfections that we all have will never compare to the amazing thing inside of our hearts. That love of Christ that rests inside of us is beautiful and that love shines through our heart. It shines through and it shines brighter than any of those dents. Our imperfections are nothing compared to the love that God has placed in our hearts. Just like the beautiful sound that comes out of my guitar, God's beautiful love shines through us.

'But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever.' Psalm 52:8

*Amy :)

Comfort

Wow, I haven't posted in forever! I'm so sorry.
I definitely owe you a post or more, so here is another 'picture of the week.'
This week, I was talking to my cousin on twitter and she posted this amazing verse.

^"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."
Matthew 5:4

If you get a chance, the rest of this passage, Matthew 5 is also amazing. This verse really spoke to me this week. After going through the death of a loved one, and being away from my parents so long, I had a really hard time. So many things swarmed my mind that kept me upset and they kept me sad. I cry myself to sleep at night. I hate when I do this, because all I want to do is be strong. I want to be strong for my family and I want to be strong for myself. But I just can't seem to do it. I just break down and then I get upset with myself for it. This verse just came at the perfect time because of the last word, comfort. When we go through hard times, we're going to mourn. We're going to cry. We're going to be upset. But the one thing that can always reassure us is comfort. God's big strong arms are holding us and comforting us as we go through those tough times. God is holding our hand as we walk through this long fire. I think that reading this verse and realizing this comfort is more important than anything. It really tells us that we CAN be sad, and we CAN cry, and we CAN mourn. Through all of that, God is holding us and comforting us.



The picture I have to go along with this is one that I have had on my computer for awhile. It shows a small hand, that of a baby, holding on to a larger, stronger hand. When a baby cries, usually its mom or dad picks it up and holds it in their arms. When a baby is safe in their mother or father's arms, they feel comfort. We're the same way with God. Even when we are upset, we feel comfort in our Father's arms and we can rest assured that He will always be there. Our little, weak hand is holding on to his for comfort and love. That little hand, that can't do much on its own is holding the strong powerful hand of the Father's. He will always give us comfort, especially in our hard times.

-Amy