Do not be conformed to this world

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind."

That is how we can "live against the grain." If we are not being renewed in mind, we will conform to the world. And are we renewed in mind? By God's power through His word. I believe this is one reason why I find it so hard to not be conformed to the world... because I don't read my Bible enough, and I'm not relying on God to give me the desire to read my Bible or to give me the power to live against the grain. Now, I'm not going to go legalistic on y'all or anything, but there are some things that we have to do. I'm not trusting that the act of reading my Bible will help me stand against the world. I'm trusting that God will speak to me through my Bible reading. And He can't do that if I'm not reading. So now all I have to do is do it... by God's power.

I think I went around and around in a circle there for a few sentences... but, anyway. I just had this revelation this morning, so I hope it speaks to someone.

Stephen's party was amazing. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STEPHEN!!!

And youth group was amazing afterward. HAPPY SOMETHINGDAY, Q222!!!

Okay, I don't want to go crazy so I shall stop. Desist. Nip it in the bud. =P

Peace, y'all.

Well...

I have secured a ride over to Stephen's birthday party. The only problem is, I need a ride to church to help put the chairs back from Youth Group and go home. It's only about seven or eight minutes to the party... but, anywho... suggestions, anyone?

So I finally pretty much have my voice back. I still can't sing a whole two octaves, but even that is better than it was. =)

And that's pretty much it. Short and to the point as Emily would say. =P

The concert....

Was amazing!!! There were six bands there, as you know, and Firebred didn't play. Despite My Failure played instead. They were all EXCELLENT!!! I want to buy all of their music!!! Aaaaaah!!!!

But, yeah. =)

This was kinda funny, 'cause the guy's mic broke... but the "sweet picking" of the guitarist on the right was AMAZING!!!

They came back right after and were just as amazing.

So the order of ceremonies was Pandora's Nightmare. They had two screamers. They were pretty good, but definitely not the best.

Next was Despite My Failure. They were just a quartet, but they were pretty amazing, too. Their drummer was kinda crazy...

Next was Rest Assured. I think they were the highlight of the evening for me, personally. The vocalist... I think his name was Sean... was amazing. He had everyone yell "Honey Bear!" at the top of their lungs. =) Also, he took a few minutes to preach. He was basically like, "People, people. I need your attention. I want no talking going on. Quiet everybody. I'm just gonna take like two minutes of your time. We're not up here because we want you to look at us, or because we want you to have fun, although that is important. We're here for one reason only, and that's for Jesus Christ. [clapping starts] No, no. Don't clap yet. Don't clap yet." [I can't remember what he said exactly after that, but the gist was that he and the other band members didn't used to be Christians. They had all turned to drugs, alcohol, and the like for satisfaction. He said that they leave you empty, but that only God can fill the void of emptiness to bring us joy. He said that Christians in "this community" need to wake up and be set apart. That we need to be a light in this community. That we need to be loud about our faith. That we cannot be ashamed about our faith... and that's about all I can remember of what we said.] And then he started the next song screaming again. It was amazing. Then about three minutes into the song, he started yelling, "Come, Jesus, consume this place! Come Spirit of God, fall on this place! Oh, Holy Spirit come! Consume us! Consume us, God!, etc." I seriously felt like crying right then, 'cause I really could feel the presence of God. It was amazing. There were people yelling stuff like "Amen!" and "Hallelujah!" and he ended the song "Jesus, no matter what happens, everything will be all right. Jesus, we'll love you, no matter what! Jesus, we'll love you, no matter what!" I think these guys are my new favorite band even though they've only released an EP.

So, yeah. Rest Assured was pretty good. =P

Next up was Onward to Olympas. That was pretty amazing because Nathan and I were right next to the screamer dude. I probably would have hit him if I started headbanging, that's how close I was. O.o But, yeah. The moshing was the most intense with them, but I liked their music pretty much the best, too.

Onward to Olympas guy -



After Onward to Olympas was Bloodline Severed. They played like ten songs, and their guitarists were definitely the best. They sang, too... I liked their music the best, next to Becoming the Archetype of course. =P

And, of course, last was BECOMING THE ARCHETYPE!!! They were absolutely amazing. They did, in the best order that I can remember, Ransom, Dichotomy, Artificial Immortality, No Fall too Far, Epoch of War, How Great Thou Art, End of the Age, Elegy, and The Epigone. As Seth was going up on stage, he stopped by me, pointed at me and said, "Hey, you preordered our album." (I was wearing the shirt that came with the preorder) I was like, "Yeah! Hey, it's good to meet you, Seth." He was like, "Yeah, it's good to meet people like you. We love people like you, so thanks." It was awesome. =) And later, I bought a poster (for only $1!!!!) and got the entire band to sign it. I was happy. =)

So God was good to us that night. I think that people were reached and affected. For a first concert, I think it was pretty good. =)

And I have almost completely lost my voice from my sore throat. It's really annoying. I'm glad that I lost it after I went to work today... it was kinda funny, though. It sounded like my voice was cracking while I was at work. One of my co-workers kept laughing at me... in a very sisterly way, haha.

Sorry for the long post... I hope y'all enjoyed. =)

Postus Scriptus (I have a horrible command of the Latin language...) : I didn't take a whole lot of pictures at the concert, 'cause I didn't think they would turn out well... but they did... Oh, well... =P

Really short post, but...

Happy Birthday Adam!!! 17, dude. I can't believe it. Of course, I've only known you for like... two months, but hey. =P

I'm pretty psyched for the Becoming the Archetype/Bloodline Severed/Onward to Olympas/Rest Assured/Firebred/Pandora's Nightmare show tonight. =)

Well...

I'm not working after all. =/I'm kinda happy, 'cause I need to rest.

Sick and tired

I'm not sick and tired of anything in particular... I'm just sick and tired. Just sick and tired... I didn't get a very good sleep last night, and I have a splitting headache every time I move my neck. I'll be good though. God works all things for the good of those who love Him. Isn't that so amazing? That even through disease and weakness, God is working something good. Of course, I don't know right now what good he has planned for me, but I'm always amazed by his grace, so there must be something good in store...

Oh, yes... I'm at the Central Piedmont resource center right now... I gotta go meet Anna in about 15 minutes when she gets out of class. Oh, I have some school to do when I get home... ug. When one is sick, it's really unbearable to think about doing school...

God is good. God is good. I don't even have to think of a particular example of his goodness anymore to realize that he is good. It's so ingrained into my brain now how good He is that I know that He is good. He is good. There's no question about it. He is good.

Man, I keep rambling... I guess that's cause I'm tired...

I work 6-9 tonight. I hope that they don't want me to be on Cow Duty, 'cause I will not be on cow duty. I will not, whether they want me to or not, haha. I don't want to get any people who will subsequently get in the cow suit to get sick. 'Cause this is a really bad sickness. It's painful all over...

Oh, now I sound like I'm complaining. Sorry. =(

I'm listening to Pallbearer by Destroy the Runner right now. They're newly one of my favorite bands. They sound a lot like As I Lay Dying, but they're a little happier sounding. They're pretty good. =) Because I can't think of anything else to post about, I'm gonna list all of the bands that I like: Becoming the Archetype, As I Lay Dying, UnderOath, Red, August Burns Red, Disciple, Haste the Day, The Showdown, Destroy the Runner, The Chariot, A Skylit Drive, Sky Eats Airplane, Attack Attack!, P.O.D., Downhere, David Crowder*Band, Third Day, Tree 63, Demon Hunter, The Devil Wears Prada, Aletheian (creepy band), Switchfoot, Skillet, Pillar, Capital Lights, War of Ages, Anberlin, Kutless, With Blood Comes Cleansing, Impending Doom, Iona, Phil Keaggy, Sovereign Grace Music, etc, etc... most of those were metal bands...

So, yeah. I'd probably better go, now.

Peace, y'all! Sorry for the long post...

Stuff, stuff, stuff, stuff, stuff...

Sorry I haven't posted or commented on anyone's blogs for the past few days... I've been super, super busy. Like, this is the first time I've been able to sit down in front of the computer and not have anything impending (an event or bed) since Wednesday.

Here is the song that Nathan and I are (hopefully, if we got a good recording...) entering into the PFO (Playing for Others) Songwriting Contest. It is about Christians who do "bad stuffs" and have a hard time coming back from that. It is written from the perspective of a friend.

Work in Progress

They tell me that you've lied
But I've seen you when you cried
They say you're a lost cause
That some things never change
But I have seen that you have tried

I don't know all your life
All your trials and your strife
I cannot read your heart
But you read it to me
Your heart was cut by a knife

I know it's hard to change
Coming from so low
You're a work in progress
God help you on the way

You say you're not that great
That your life isn't straight
You're a work in progress
You hate the things you've done
With truth I say that's great

So that's that. =) Um... I'm working like a whole lot this week, so I'm probably not going to post very much... I hope I'll get to catch up with everyone else's blog posts.

Peace, y'all!

I love Proverbs =)

Proverbs 20:13

"Do not love sleep or you will grow poor; stay awake and you will have food to spare."

This is my argument for staying up late from now on. =P But, seriously, try to get away with a relatively small amount of sleep (more than four or five hours, please), and you'll get so much more done. It's a good feeling. =P

I was flipping through my NIV Bible last night, in Proverbs, and it's amazing how many of those psalms relate directly to life today.

Here's another one that has to do with sleeping. It's Proverbs 24:30-34: "I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw:A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest--and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man."

That one is more about laziness, though. It is amazing how wise these men were. It's just common sense, but we tend to forget how much is wasted with "a little folding of the hands to rest."

It's Q222 tonight! I hope pretty much everyone can make it!

God bless y'all.

Duke, ah, Duke...

Duke lost. I'm trying to not let that ruin my week... especially since we lost to the UNC Tarheels. At home. AT THE CAMERON INDOOR STADIUM!!! THE CAMERON CRAZIES AREN'T SUPPOSED TO LET ANYONE WIN BESIDES DUKE!!!!!! Haha...

But, yeah. I need a good verse right about now... this is kinda related...

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you, and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

So, Duke losing was all just part of His big plan.

Sorry, I just feel like being goofy this morning... haha.

But seriously, He made Duke lose for a reason.

I'm not bummed anymore.

Honey Nut Cheerios are amazing.

Stuff that's going on...

I'm hopefully staying after church with Nathan (Please, let's not spend too much money, =P ) to go to frisbee and then go "window shopping," possibly, at Lowe's to get ideas for the studio.

And I finally did my rough draft for English 111. My teacher said that it was pretty much the best she'd seen so far, and that it was more what she expected for the workshop draft than the rough draft. And that's a good thing.

I don't feel like sleeping right now...

I want to get either an ESP or Schecter guitar when I get an electric. I hope (big, big, big hope) that we hit it big with Awake. But, that's not the main purpose of AMP. The purpose is primarily evangelical and for encouragement. I just hope that all of us don't forget what the purpose is when we're writing music and recording it... I guess that's what lyrics are for, huh? =P

Peace, y'all.

EDIT: Oh, and I found out that musical screaming increases my singing range. By a whole half-step in each direction. O.o

It is Thursday night...

I am not at frisbee. I wish I was. I am at home. I am writing a blog post... obviously. I am gonna work on my English 111 narrative in a few moments.

Oh, how easily we all forget that the world will never satisfy! Too often, I live for myself instead of living for God. Indulging in my own pleasure will never satisfy. Only God can fill the void of need, of want. He is so awesome.

I am freestyle writing. I'm not erasing anything I type (except for a typo... maybe.). I can't think of anything to say... I can't think of anything to say.

I love all my friends. Y'all are just so amazing to talk to (or chat virtually with). Y'all are so encouraging... yes, you /all/. All of my friends help me in my walk with God, whether through encouraging me in him, or telling me about their troubles. Everything points to Him. He is so awesome.

I feel like writing poetry...

Now I'm rambling, and I have probably bored everyone to death. If I hear of anyone dying of internal hemorrhaging, I shall know that I am the culprit. I AM THE CULPRIT! Spencer Chamberlain is an amazing screamer... Okay, this is the end. THIS IS THE END!

Whoa, I just put two lines from two different UnderOath songs in one paragraph!!! W00t! But really, this is the end.

[the end]

[really]

End of the Age

I felt like being artistic this morning...

Today...

I am desperately trying to write more music. I'm not having any good ideas right now, though... I wish that I could be alone in the house with the piano so I could compose something without any outside noise and without anyone hearing... this isn't going to happen anytime soon with a big family, though. =P

Church was really good today. The dream and its interpretation were really encouraging for me because it relates to what I talked about in my post "We Will Survive." It's like that verse... "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." Though the storm rages, we will not be touched.