2013 Blog Resolution

Hi all! I have already decided that for 2013, I will be trying to post more! I already have lots of cool thing planned for this next year and I want y'all to know about them! So, I made a blog resolution (Maybe I'll actually keep it this time :P). To help get me in the habit of posting more, I'm going to do a January photo challenge. Now, last time I tried that I think got to like day 15 or something and then forgot allllll about it. To make sure I don't do that this time, I have made it my iPod's wallpaper! Anyway, I guess we will just see how this goes.... Hope you all had a very merry CHRISTmas! Tell me what some of your new years resolutions are in the comment section! :)

For Your Glory

Hi, all! Yesterday was my church's Christmas program. Each year we have what we call a 'Christmas Coffee House.' People in the church bake all kinds of goodies and also prepare individual acts like singing and etc. It's different from the normal Christmas act most churches offer, so we hope that people who wouldn't normally go to that will come here. It is a very relaxed setting and people are free to move around and get as much food as they want, but you can always tell God is working. It is almost always my favorite service of the year! Anyway, as you all probably know, I LOVE dramas. The past few weeks some people from my church and I have gotten together and created a new drama just for this special service. It is put to the song, 'For your Glory' by Jarod Espy (I definitely recommended you look him up on iTunes! All of his songs are amazing!). I hope you enjoy it. Please tell me what you think!

Evolution Survey

Hi all! For my English class, I am writing an argumentative paper on Evolution. To help provide sources for this essay, I am running a survey online. It is only 2 questions (1 is optional), so if you would please help me out I would be so appreciative! Here is the link:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FF8MGDN

Thanks! Hopefully I will be able to post more soon.

Photos 14 & 15

Day 14- something that makes you laugh, Day 15- dinner time.

Photo 13

Day 13 - landscape.

Photo 12

Day 12 - on the table. My school.....

Photo 11

Day 11 - something up close. It's my brother's bicycle. On a side note, I saw a shooting star last night! :D I love the little ways God reminds us that we are His and that He loves us!

Photo 10

Day 10 - emotion. This is the front of the Compassion International magazine we get. It makes me want to adopt so many kids!!!

Photo 9

Day 9 - red.

Photo 8

Day 8 - angles. In the book I'm reading :)

Photo 7

Day 7 - light. This is the light at the restaurant we are at today.

Photo 6

Day 6 - what you are thankful for. I'm really thankful for music! It plays a huge role in my life. And, just in case you are wondering, that is a stamp on my arm that I had to get in order to get in and out of the band competition my dad judged. ;)

Photo 5

Day 5 - Shadows

Photo 4

Day 4 - What you read. Alright, so I can't actually read this quite yet, but one of my life goals is to be able to!

Photo 3

Day 3- this happened today. The presidential debate!

Concerts Galore!

First of all, here is the Photo A Day Challenge that I am doing! If any of you want to do it too, please do and let me know! I'd love to see your pictures!

Now, before I post the daily photo challenge picture later on today, I thought I would tell you a little about what has been going on me with me lately! For the most part, I've settled down into a schedule filled with pretty much just school and church. But last week I went to two concerts! Yes, TWO! I love concerts, you see, so this was a very nice treat! :P I got to meet all the bands and everything! In the words of Whezzy from Dragon Tails, "LOOOOOOVE IT!" (Did anyone else absolutely adore that show when they were little???) Here are some pics of me (and some family/friends in a few of the pictures) with the bands:

Kutless

Rhett Walker

Jason Castro

Dara Maclean

Heavens to Betsy

for King&Country

for King&Country preforming

My Christian artist poster collection :)

I thought I would let yall see my poster collection :) I'm pretty proud of that haha. 

October photo challenge

Hello all! Once again, I seem to be unable to keep this blasted thing updated. Well, I am hoping to change that this month. I am going to attempt to update this blog everyday this month, even of it is just a picture. I'm going to do a photo challenge and put the photos I take on here. I have already taken 2 this month. Here they are: (day 1- where you stood. (day2- lunch time)

Hola from Honduras!

Hi everyone! I am currently updating from my ipod touch so please excuse all typing/spelling errors. I've already spent one week in honduras and am working on my second. I'm having an awesome time. This past week we worked in a village in the mountains. It was gorgeous up there! And the people were so sweet too! I'm goin to miss them so much. We went and worked in the morning an had vbs with the kids in the village after lunch. Then on some nights we had worship. I love the worship time because you could tell the people were real in their worship. I'll post some pictures when i get home. This next week I'm going to e helping run a camp for orphans. It sounds really exciting! Ok, I'm going to log off of here. I hope everyone has a wonderful week and please keep praying for me :) I appreciate t a lot. Adios!

Manifesto

Hello all! I hope you are doing well. I am terribly sorry for not posting in forever. I figured once school was over, I would be posting like a maniac, but alas, it was not to be. I've been out of school for about a month now (lets hear it for being homeschooled! lol), but just as busy as ever. :) One of the things occupying my time is my drama team at church. This morning we did a new drama! It's called 'Manifesto' and is set to 'Manifesto' by the City Harmonic (which, by the way, is an AWESOME group. You should totally check them out). In it, we make the Creation scene, Moses parting the red sea, David and Goliath, and lots of others! It all ends with everyone praising God. I think it is a REALLY cool drama. Its below, so please watch it. Tell me what you think!

This week, we (the youth group) are off to church camp! YAY! Please be praying for us to really get to know God so much more. Hopefully there will be pictures maybe next week. :)

'Everything' by Lifehouse/Colton Dixon

Once again, I am so impressed with Colton! He sang 'Everything' by Lifehouse on Wednesday. Everything is a Christian song and he says (not in this cut of the video) that it is his favorite worship song and that Jesus is his everything. I'm seriously very impressed with him. You can get the songs that he was sung on iTunes if you want! :)

Colton Dixon

Yup, thats right! I'm a Colton fan. 

Colton Dixon is a contestant on American Idol this season. He has always kinda been on my list of favorites but yesterday, he moved to the TOP. Why you ask? Well, I'll tell you. Because he isn't afraid to stand up for God! Yes, once again, thats right. I read this article yesterday that my Mom posted to her facebook page. It is really short and I encourage you to read it. I really believe that we need to be backing him up as his family in Christ through prayer and encouragement (and voting...). He is doing the right thing by sticking to his faith even though people around him are telling him that he is going to fail because of it. He is trusting God and that isn't always easy to do.

So, please be praying for Colton and what God is going to do through him. :)

Pinterest

That is right! I got a Pinterest. I'm still trying to figure it out, but I think I'm going to like it. Do any of you do it? If so, tell me about it! What do you pin about? As of right now, all I have pinned about is my photography. People pin about so many different things! I've seen wedding dresses, musical instruments, recipes, animals, etc... Very cool :)

My friend, Ashley, has a blog now! You should defiantly go check it out! She is blogging about her experience in Haiti right now. She is on a mission trip there and so many people have been healed and have gotten saved! Its so amazing to read about her experiences there! Here is the link: Ashley's Blog

Basketball Boy

See that kid in the picture that is jumping so high? Yup, thats my little brother, Ben. He loves to play basketball. My dad and I help coach his team at our church and he is amazing at dribbling! :) So, as an older sister who also loves to play basketball, I am very proud! :P  (BTW, yes I know thats not a basketball he is shooting, but still! Haha)

In other news, I am thinking about resurrecting my old photo blog... Thoughts?

WINNER!

And the winner of 'Replication' is....

MOZI ESME!

Congrats! I've sent you an email.  Thanks so much to everyone who entered! You are all great!

'Replication' by Jill Williamson - GIVEAWAY

OK, guys! Here it is! I promised a few weeks ago a book giveaway and I finally got around to fulfilling that promise. :) Also, I was able to ask the author a few questions so there is a interview as well.

INTERVIEW

  

Jill Williamson

 

1. Why do you write for young adults?

Because they are awesome! And they read a lot. And they’re in a place in life where they and are asking lots of important questions and making decisions that will impact their lives. And there are a lot of stories out there that show characters making destructive choices, and few of those books bother to show the consequences of living in such a way. I want to write books that are real and don’t ignore reality for the sake of sensationalism.

2. When did you become a Christian?

I became a Christian my junior year in college. I had transferred to Northwest Nazarene University because a friend went there and I was trying to get closer to a fashion design major and back then NNU had a program that allowed students to take a year of school at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

My friend got married and left me all alone in a school of Christians! I was a bit freaked out that someone might discover the things I’d done in my life, where I’d come from, and what I’d lived through. One day I confessed to a fellow fashion major: “I’m not a Christian!” And she laughed at me and said, “So? A lot of students here aren’t.” Then she told me that Christians aren’t perfect. That I shouldn’t live my life worried about what people think of my life. And she said I needed to figure out what I believed about God for myself.

Well, I didn’t know what I believed. But for me, it all came down to this: truth is absolute. Fact is, either God is there or he isn’t. And if he was there and I lived my life ignoring that so I could keep living life my way, I was a fool. And when I honestly went looking for fact to prove or disprove the bible or Christ’s life, I always found proof that supported the bible and who Christ was. I never found anything to support an atheistic view. And I wasn’t only looking at Christian sources.

So I made the choice to follow God, and I have never regretted it. And when I look back at my life, I see myself standing at that fork in the road. And I could have ignored God and graduated and went to New York and became a success in the fashion industry. But I would have been a shell of a human being. I would have lived in a destructive way. I would have been terribly lonely, no matter what friends and loves came my way.

Because the only one who can fill us in this life is Jesus. Fame is never enough. Money is never enough. True love is never enough. It is what it is, whether you believe it or not. And I am so thankful that I was humble enough to make that decision sixteen years ago.

3. What is your favorite kind of food?

Pasta. I adore pasta. Alfredo is my favorite. Olive Garden is my favorite restaurant.

4. Do you (on purpose haha) put yourself into any of your characters?

 Sometimes I do. If one of my characters is experiencing something that I experienced in my life, I will add the feelings that I remember. There are certain things that I “get” because I’ve experienced it. For example: living without electricity, learning to drive a stick shift, sewing, playing on a basketball team, going out in -40 degree weather, being a non Christian, being a Christian. But I try not to have my characters ever be totally me.

5. How do you pick your character's names?

 Lots of ways. I use Google searches to find lists of names. I might want a biblical name, or a name that was popular for a certain year. So I’ll search “top boys names 1950.” I have a Los Angeles phone book that is useful. And sometimes I’ll click through lists of friend’s friends on Facebook, looking for the perfect name. If I’m writing fantasy, that’s different. I usually try to find a theme for that fantasy land. So I might choose a language like I did with Hebrew in my Blood of Kings trilogy, or a country. I used maps of Scandinavian countries to come up with names for a people once, using the names of cities and lakes for inspiration.

6. What is the best compliment you have ever received on one of your books?

My favorite compliment is when the reader says he stayed up all night reading my book and couldn’t put it down.

7. How can readers get in touch with you?

 You can email me or comment on my blog posts through my website: www.jillwilliamson.com.

Here is my REVIEW of the book:

 This book is AMAZING! I was already a huge Jill Williamson fan from her previous books (‘The Blood of Kings Trilogy’, which I also highly recommend) and I simply could NOT wait to get my hands on this book! It does not disappoint.

When Abby Goyer's father is hired as a scientist at a highly secretive lab, her curiosity kicks into high gear and she goes sleuthing. Abby discovers (with the help of Martyr, a bald, seventeen year old boy whom Abby found in her bedroom and seems to know nothing of the world) that the head scientist in this lab has successfully created functional clones for an evil purpose. She knows she needs to do something, but what? As more and more comes into the light, both Abby and Martyr know that it won't be long until it all explodes and the world changes forever.

This book is a clean fiction novel for teens, but anyone of any age could read this and truly enjoy it.  I HIGHLY recommend it!

GIVEAWAY

Alright, so Mrs. Jill has kindly offered to giveaway a copy of 'Replication' one of you all! All you have to do is comment on this post telling me you would like to be entered into the drawing and your e-mail address so I can get a hold of you if you win. The drawing will be held two weeks from today (the 8th of February).

Have an awesome day!

30 Day Challenge

Hey all! I just signed up to do the 30 Day Challenge with klove. Klove is my favorite Christian radio station. They have great contemprary music and they are always adding new music so you don't hear the same thing over and over and over! It's awesome haha. Anyway, the 30 Day Challenge is to listen to ONLY Christian music for 30 days. For me, this won't be to hard because that's reall all I listen to anyway. But I figured I might as well do this and completely cut of all secular music. Here is the link to the sign up page where you can also read more about it. Please do it if you feel led to! You would be suprised at the impact it will have in you life and walk with Christ!

http://www.klove.com/30day#.Tw59IwBonZ0.blogger

Winterjam

So, this past Saturday, my church's youth group went to Winterjam! It was amazing. :) My two favorite groups there were for King & Country and Sanctus Real. I love those two groups! Here is a song from each band (don't forget to turn of the sidebar music first!) :

'The Redeemer' by Sanctus Real

'Busted Heart' by for King & Country

All the other bands were pretty great too. I'm not much of a Skillet fan though :P They were the featured band this year. Now, I will admit, they did the song 'Hero' really cool! They had blazing fire and TONS of blinky lights on all the songs, but on this song, the guitar players came up and were raised up and down on pieces of the stage that went up and down. Also, the drummer (who just happens to be a girl, which I thought was pretty cool) was up on a podium looking thing that (only during this song) came forward and then raised her up even more that she already was. As if that wasn't enough, the thing then spun her around in circles! And she didn't even miss a beat. If it had been me, I would have fallen off! Let alone actually play drums... Shew.  

Happy New Year!

Hey all! I hope everyone had a wonderful NEW YEAR! Happy 2012! :) My youth group and I went to a local concert on New Years Eve. The Justin Warren Teseniar Band played and a local pastor spoke. Afterwards, we had a bonfire (where my dad ate 4 hotdogs...). It was really fun! The band was REALLY great! They currently have an EP out and I would really encourage you to get it! The songs on it are very well done and immensely encouraging! It is available on iTunes.

The front of the band's EP

Some other news is I will soon be having a giveaway here! It's Jill William's (one of my most favorite authors) newest novel, Replication. More info on that later.

So what did yall do for News Years? Have a wonderful day!