Motivation

I've been thinking a lot about commitment, goals, and the weight of my words and actions. (this is a new years post, just so you know. =P )

Lately, I've been taking advantage of the fact that I'm really really good at doing things last minute.

I don't say that to brag. In fact it's a terrible weakness of mine.

I can memorize my speech the night before the tournament and still do well.
I can study new vocab right before taking the test and remember it.
I have fabulous short-term memory.
Basically, I can learn quickly. I can also rattle of said learned information and sound like I know what I'm talking about.

In the past couple years, though, I haven't really internalized much of what I've learned. That's not to say that I haven't learned anything, but that a lot of my life has been lived on the surface.

I could go into a lot more here, and I will in a later post. But lately I've been thinking about everything I say as if I was binding myself into a legal contract.

A couple weeks ago, I was challenged by the speaker in awana who was talking about how she made the commitment when she was 12 years old to read her Bible every day for at least 5 minutes a day.

At first I thought this kind of weird. Then I thought again. And I found it a rather brilliant idea.

So I wrote up a little piece of paper stating my commitment, signed it, put it in an envelope, and stuck it in my Bible.

I have now committed to reading my Bible at least 5 minutes every single day for the rest of my life.

One person I talked to was slightly taken aback at first.

"Isn't that kind of a lofty goal?"

I mean, you know, we all make New Years' resolutions, and almost half of them are unreachable ideals that we set to make ourselves feel better, or at least so that at the end of the year we can say "well, I tried."

But if you think about it, that's such a tiny little commitment. 5 minutes a day. Out of how many minutes in our crazy days?

And what else does Christ ask of us but for the rest of my life? I say my life is committed to Christ, but what does that mean?

Well, for me, it means that every day for the rest of my life, I am going to spend time reading His word.

It's kind of big, but if you think about it, it's really rather small. Yet this is what God asks of us.

Since then, it's been crazy how impactful the idea of my signature on that piece of paper is.

That means if I miss one single day, I've broken my commitment: one I made to Christ. That's pretty huge, you know.

I don't have many goals for the coming new year. (2011. Isn't that kind of scary?) But one of my goals this year is to reach all my goals. How about that?

So often we make them just to make us feel better, to sort of put us in an ambitious mindset in hopes of reaching the perfect ideal. As if writing it down is going to magically make it happen.

Since I've been so good at doing things last minute, the concept of working for something is sort of hard to grasp sometimes. But that really hit home to me when I went to Nats last year. [see my Nationals tag for more about that] Learning what it means to work hard for a goal and to reach it.

One of my friends pointed out that I'm really goal oriented. I never really thought of myself as particularly this way, but the more I think about it, the more it's true. When I set my mind to something, I really do do it. The fact is that I haven't been setting my mind to very much...just sort of flitting around and only halfway setting my mind to things.

So here's to the New Year: setting my mind on knowing Christ - and actually reaching my goals. My goal is to be committed. To my friends, my family, my schoolwork, and my Savior. What are your goals?

Merry Christmas, world. (:

I think my favorite part about Christmas is definitely Christmas Eve service: and I've especially enjoyed it at my church the past two years.

I love to sit in the balcony - where we always do - and look over the edge to see the a thousand tiny lights filling the whole room with a beautiful glow.

I love watching as the choir members come down, and light their candle from the advent candles. And for awhile it's just 3 or 4 little lights making their way down the aisle. But slowly, the light starts to spread. And as we swing into another verse of The First Noel, it spreads more. Until, by the time we have begun Silent Night, the whole room glows.

And you think.

One light. That's all I am. Not enough to pierce the darkness myself. But when we join together with thousands of other lights and hold them up high: look at the difference it makes.

One of my friends posted recently about Christmas - and how it doesn't feel quite so Christmassy this year.

The past couple years have been especially so for me. It might be for lack of church family, the fizzling out of traditions, or the fact that presents aren't quite so exciting as they used to be.

I think it's the lack of anticipation.

Christmas is all about anticipation. The preparation, the planning. Shopping, wrapping, finding something just right for someone and keeping it a secret for the whole month.

My friend and I like to get each other presents for our birthdays and Christmas. But half the fun of the presents is the fact that we taunt each other to no end about what it is. We drop each other casual hints, random hints, irrelevant hints, and send each other intentionally blurry pictures of it. They aren't generally very big presents, but we always find ourselves in delightful anticipation of whatever it is that is to come.

The birth of the Messiah was an anticipated event for years and years. Prophets wrote about it and scholars studied it. The Israelites waited and waited for the promised Messiah to come and save them from those who oppressed them.

Last year, my family started celebrating advent - something we'd never done at our old church. But our new church did, so we tried it out. I always thought advent was just counting down till Christmas - but it's so much more than that.

Every night, we read a section from our storybook: a historical fiction about a young boy and his adventures as he learns about the coming Messiah and eventually gets to meet the child who will be His Savior.

The amazing thing that I loved about this was the anticipation. The focus wasn't on the presents, Christmas day, or whatever it was we were getting. The focus was on the coming Messiah. That a Savior would soon be born during their lifetimes.

And it brought into a different light the anticipation of Jesus' birth and the beauty of it. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be there, in the stable, when Jesus was born? To read the Torah and to wonder when this Messiah would come?

The days until Christmas are filled with the waiting and anticipation of discovering the contents of the packages under the tree. But Advent is about the anticipation of Christ's birth.

Which....is what I love about Christmas.

smile (:

I'm beginning to grow rather fond of the random, spontaneous blog updates. [that's a warning, dear reader] Probably due to all the rather deep thinking I've been doing lately. But never mind that right now.

We had quiz practice today and yesterday, which proved to be quite entertaining and actually productive. (as opposed to last week's, where we mostly hung out, mulled over all the information we didn't know, ate popcorn, and argued over whether to listen to my ipod or Micah's.)

I ALSO got to spend time with my sister yesterday, (!!!!!!!) whom I haven't seen in a year, which is a ridiculously long time. I'm trying to find an appropriately awesome word to describe our visit, but I'm not finding one. Ah, well. Guess that means I should expand my vocabulary.

This is our Christmas tree. (:

Today is Christmas Eve Eve! Kind of scary how it's crept up. I have so much work to do before break is over.

OH! and Maple Candy is the best thing EVER! We have some in our house. ::sigh:: it's sooooo good. (:

Christmas vs. Me

I've done a lot of thinking about Christmas. I love it. I'm the type who listens to it in October and begins planning quite early. Snow, trees, food...I love it all.

But lately I've been sort of scrooge-ish...and for a number of reasons. (all while still listening to Christmas music, posting about Christmas, and running around in the snow...)

-Jesus wasn't actually born on Christmas. The whole "Jesus is the reason for the season" is rather stupid and quite honestly not true. Christmas began as a pagan holiday and still is.
-"Giving is better than getting" is overrated. People say it to mask their mad desire for gifts. They don't mean it and they don't believe it.
-Christmas is so very over-commercialized. All holidays are, come to think of it, but Christmas especially. I take traditions and holidays rather seriously, because I believe they are important. But one of my greatest pet peeves when it comes to holidays are consumer products that are cheap, fake, poorly made, short-lived, and overly marketed. It downplays the importance of it. It lessens the effort you put into it. It makes it easy, cheap, and heartless.

Love is giving - love is selfless. It's not giving if you didn't give it out of love. It's not giving if you didn't put some part of yourself into it.

On the other side, why do I love Christmas?

-I love traditions. Something that is repeated only on certain occasions tells me it has meaning. Something that is specially set aside and "sacred", if you will.
-I love the seasonal change. Snow, cold, trees, red and green. I love cozy, warm things, decorations...
-Memories...family...friends...time spent together. My primary love language is quality time...which is probably why I hate cheap consumer products. There's not a single ounce of someone's genuine time put into that.
-I like the focus on Christ. Even if He wasn't born on Christmas: it's a different perspective. It's an idea centered around Christ and the celebration of something great. It's a break from normal life to elevate Christ even more.

So what do I think? I hate commercialism, I love Christmas. Giving is a great idea, but so many people do it in a heartless way just to please "Christians" and to mask their greedy hearts.

I hate the typical "so this Christmas, think about...[insert meaningful and unreachable ideal here]" blah blah blah. How many people actually are impacted by the typical "Jesus is the reason so giving is better than getting" speech?

Why do I celebrate Christmas?

Is it because everyone else does it?
Because I genuinely love the celebration?
Because I actually want to celebrate the incarnation of Jesus?

Quite honestly, I'm not sure why I celebrate Christmas. There are obviously legitimate reasons for celebrating it or for not celebrating it.

But. I do know this - that no matter what the holiday, time, or occasion, that Christ should be our focus. Christmas is a time when we can look at the awesome beauty of the fact that the God of the universe became next to nothing in order to save those who had turned their backs against Him. Not that we can't look at this any other time - but I guess that's what celebrations are for, right? Remembrance? To elevate something you prize as important?

So, during this Christmas season, during this celebration and remembrance - I want every move I make to be one that is elevating what I truly hold as the most important - that is, Christ. Not necessarily the giving, not necessarily the family, the traditions, the putting-others-first: because those are things that should flow out of my life as a result of my love for Christ: when Christ is put first.

Finally!

There's such a disparaging lack of decent Christmas blog backgrounds out there - actually, there's a terrible lack of decent ANYtime blog backgrounds out there...most of which I blame my friend Inders for making me such a web-design perfectionist.

I also had to go back to the normal template [::sob::] because I couldn't find any to fit the spiffy new one. So everything's a little more squished up again. [::wheeze::]

Of course, it is rather late to be finally changing my blog up, but ah, well. Life is far too busy.

Today in church, they had all their train sets up and so so so much WONDERFUL FOOD. I loooove the Sunday before Christmas! It's such fun to see all the trains and there were SO MANY this year! And I didn't have my camera. [boooo.]

The sermon was really good too - it was about focusing not on the "how" of our problems: as in, how to fix them, what to do to make things better, but rather the "who": the one who holds all in the palm of His hand. He talked a lot about how when we give Christ our brokenness, pain, and death: He exchanges it with joy, renewal, and life.

In other news, MY BIG SISTER IS COMING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!! (whom I haven't seen in a year!!!) sad;fkharieudsj I'm so excited. (:

::sigh::

Well. That was a random update.

Keep seeing Dawn Treader!
(oho, you thought you could get out of hearing about that movie for at least one blog post, eh? sorry. =P )

Love, Hannah

Aslan's Meditations: Room for the King

I wrote the devotional for this week on Aslan's Country - enjoy! (: The actual post is here.

All three times that I’ve seen Dawn Treader so far, there is one line that particularly stuck out to me – not in an odd, awkward way – but that it was done very, very well, and it got me thinking.

When they are being taken captive by the slave traders on Narrowhaven, two men have Caspian’s hands behind his back, and he desperately yells to them:

“Listen, you insolent fool! I – am – your – KING!”

But they paid no heed: instead they bound him and locked him in a dungeon.

The slave traders didn’t know Caspian was their king. They didn’t know that he had come to set things right on their island and to bring peace. They didn’t know he was the one they should be following.

As the Christmas season approaches, it got me thinking – that’s what the Romans did to Jesus when He was born. Obviously He couldn’t cry out Himself, but the skies shook with the glory and celebration of the birth of our King and Savior.

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
“ Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:13-14)

It says ‘Look, world – a KING has been born. Your King, your Savior, the Messiah’

But as Christ grew and taught, that’s also what the scribes, Pharisees, priests, and mobs did to Him. Scorned Him, beat Him, refused to believe.

How obvious would it have been to the slave traders if they had taken a second look at Caspian? They might find a signet ring, Peter’s sword – maybe treasure, wealth, and fame. They could look at the way he dressed, talked, acted, and carried himself. All these things that would show them in a heartbeat that Caspian was, indeed, a great king.

It doesn’t take more than this second look to see this about Christ. Had the Romans really sought to find out just who this Man was – they might have found something completely different than the mobs and crowds seemed to cry.

Would the slave traders have seen Caspian differently if they were torn, broken, and living in poverty? The people of Narrowhaven did. In the battle on Narrowhaven, there are a few shots of the people – and you see in their eyes a kind of wide and awestruck wonder and excitement. I can just imagine them thinking “who are these people who have come to save us? And why?”

It is for those who humble themselves to look at who Christ really is that He saves.

Jesus says in Luke 5:32 - I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.

So often, we treat God as though He’s just there to help us when we’re in trouble. Just there to be a powerful, magical force who cleans up after us and takes away our pain. Our culture has grown up with the idea that God is a being who needs our worship. Who needs our praise.

What a lie.

God doesn’t need us at all. We, like the people of Narrowhaven, are broken, tormented, and living in the poverty of the choices we have made and the sin that surrounds us.

Yet God wants to have a relationship with us.

Have you ever stopped to meditate on the beauty of that?

Because God is not just a being out there who comes when we need Him, fixes things up, and then leaves so we can revel in the glory of our own accomplishments. He’s not just a god who needs our worship to make Him happy – or a force that must be pleased with certain rituals in order to keep Him quiet and out of the way. He’s not a vending machine who gives us what we wants if we put the right amount in and push the right buttons.

In fact, He’s anything but that.

He is – GOD.

He is not only the one who comforts us in our pain, works out our problems, and requires our worship. He is so much more than that.

He is our Creator, Master, Father, Savior, King, and everything we ever needed. He is so much greater, bigger, and mightier than anything we could imagine. He is glorious beyond comprehension.

Psalm 19:1-3

The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
² Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
³ There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.

Psalm 144:3

³ LORD, what is man, that You take knowledge of him?
Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him?

This God, this Lord, this Creator of all and majestic and high beyond all others – this is the One who humbled Himself to obedience – to the point of death as a human. (Phil. 2:5-8)

I can imagine Jesus thinking…or maybe even wanting to yell out to the world: “I AM YOUR CREATOR! YOUR SUSTAINER! THE ONE WHO DIED FOR YOU!”

Not only did Bethlehem have no room for their King when He was born, but the world didn’t either.

Like the slave traders though, the Romans disregarded whatever evidence there may have been for Kingship and beat, tortured, mocked, and killed Jesus – the very man who had come to save them.

And what about our world today?

Especially during the hubbub of the Christmas season – it’s so easy to forget about Christ – who He really is and what that means to us.

Christmas may not have been when Christ was really born – but how often do we get caught up even in the idea of “giving” or “helping” others – and lose sight of the real reason we live and breathe and do anything?

1 Corinthians 10:31 says therefore whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Every breath I take, every move I make, should not only recognize Christ as my King and Savior, but proclaim it to anyone I encounter.

Puddleglum, in The Silver Chair, he emphatically states

"I'm on Aslan's side even if there isn't any Aslan to lead it. I'm going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn't any Narnia."

Do we live as though we have Christ in our lives, that we acknowledge Him as King? Or do we trample Him, lock Him up under the excuse of “business”, “work”, “holidays”, “this is important”, or whatever other ideas we come up with?

When we hear Christ say “I – am – your – KING!” what does that mean to us? Do we respond by continuing about our normal lives as if Christ was never a part? Or does it move us to worship and bow before Him because He IS our King?

1 Timothy 1:17 - Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Images from AslansCountry facebook page and google images.

Has it really been 3?

First time seeing Dawn Treader (pre-screening with the brother)

And second time (midnight showing (!!!) with awesome people)

And third time (just this afternoon and with large amounts of awesome people)

And still as wonderful and magical as ever.

Would you look at that beautiful countdown on the left sidebar? It says NOW PLAYING!! wahoo! Go see it. :)

That'll Show 'em

OH MY WORD!

THREE DAYS UNTIL DAWN TREADER!!!

Excited, people? It's going to be so amazing!!!

Guess what else?

Michael Apted (director), Mark Johnson (producer), and other important people at Walden making this movie are going to make a decision about making the "Silver Chair" into a movie based on opening weekend.

That's right. We determine whether the movies continue.

Dawn Treader *almost* wasn't greenlit, and it took a LONG time for them to start on it because of how terribly Prince Caspian did in the box office. Dawn Treader is GOOD - and I (again) definitely recommend seeing it. On opening weekend. Even if you don't go with me. Or you don't live in Washington state.

Go see it. Opening Weekend. December 10-12.

Let's go show those producers that we care about this film.

Questions...and Answers.

This one verse in council time at awana today was particularly striking. I'm not quite sure why. I've known this verse for like...ever.

But it ties in so beautifully with what I was talking about in my last post.

The verse was Psalm 119:9 - How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.

That verse has never hit me in the way it did tonight...I think it was due to the fact that the speaker used a different version. I'm not sure which one it was, but I came home and looked a bunch up. See if it says anymore to you by reading it different versions.

NIV - How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
By living according to your word.

NASB - How can a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping it according to Your word.

MSG - How can a young person live a clean life?
By carefully reading the map of your Word.

NLT - How can a young person stay pure?
By obeying your word.

ESV - How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.

I particularly enjoyed the different words used in place of "taking heed"

By...
living my life according to God's word
keeping my life in line with God's word
reading the directions in God's word
obeying God's word
guarding my life according to God's word

It makes me curious to know what the original Hebrew word was.

Taking heed - that's to listen, take note, and pay attention to.
Living - that's to align all aspects of my life according to what I just took heed of
Keeping - that's maintaining it: always
Reading - that's to always be looking for more: studying, searching, desiring more of Christ
Obeying - that's to do exactly what it says, exactly how it says, exactly when God says to
Guarding - that's not letting anything else take place of our one focus: Christ

How can we live pure lives, lives centered on Christ? It's simple: listening and obeying the instructions He's given us in the Bible. Funny the revelations you have late at night....

Now doing that isn't so simple - but we have the power of Christ to guide us.

Christian-in-a-Box

I'm a Bible quizzer. I've always been the one to finish my book first, memorize it all word-perfect, and be able to pull it out of my head at any time and even tell you the color of the page the verse was on. That's the way my brain works, and I always had trouble understanding why others had such a hard time memorizing.

But recently, I've been really complacent and lazy about memorizing Scripture, to the point that sometimes it's not as enjoyable as it used to be. And not just that, but meditating on it as well.

Growing up in a Christian home, I've been able to recite Scripture as long as I can remember. I know John 3:16, Philippians 4:13, Romans 3:23, Acts 16:31, Colossians 3:20, Isaiah 9:6, Psalm 23, Proverbs 3:5-6....the list gos on and on.

Lately, however, I've let that slip in my mind. I think "oh, everyone quotes THOSE verses"
Everyone knows them. There's nothing new under the sun. Just about every so-called Christian in the world can tell you what John 3:16 is.

I mean, honestly, how many times have you head that verse? (it's actually one of the hardest verses to quote word perfect because of it's high popularity and extensive number of quoted versions) Or Romans 3:23? Philippians 4:13? Psalm 23? A Lot.

As Christians who've been in Christian homes our whole loves, we sort of forget about those verses and think "Oh, everyone knows it". We think it won't have that much impact since everyone has heard it like, a billion times before. We don't think about the importance of that verse to us because it's so over-quoted. (Honestly, who hasn't gotten a card with the blessing from Numbers that says "the Lord bless and keep you...?")

The truth is in Hebrews 4:12 - But the word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the divisions of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

I don't know about you, but that's pretty powerful stuff right there.

Living.

Powerful.

Piercing to my soul.

Discerning >wince< the intents of my heart.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

That by itself is powerful.

I shall not want.

Why? Because the Lord is my shepherd. What does that have to do with it? Because HE is my provision, HE is my all...when I trust in Him...my wants die away.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13)

ALL is a beautiful, universal word meaning everything. I think we often underestimate the power of the word ALL. It means ALL.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son - that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Meditate on the power of that.

Never underestimate the power of Scripture...even the verses we deem "trivial" or "over-quoted." Why are they quoted so much? Because of their power. Because of their meaning. Treasure those verses, hide them in your heart.

God's word is one of our most powerful tools for connecting with Him. He inspired it. (1 Tim 3:16-17), it keeps us from sin (Ps. 119:11), and makes our path clear. (Ps. 119:105)

I used to think "well, the Bible doesn't explicitly say whether or not I can do certain things. So how does it help keep me from sin?" (Rom. 3:20)

James says To him who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.

And in Hebrews If we continue in sin after receiving knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.

This is how scripture helps to keep me on the right path. I've had a pretty sharp conscience since I was a kid, but I've let it become dull lately. Remembering that verse has always been a sharp reminder of what I should - or shouldn't do.

I know I treasure letters and cards from people I love. I read them over and over. I save them and make sure they're never left where they could be destroyed.

Do I treat God's word like that? My father's love letter to me? It's not just a book Christians follow: it's GOD'S living word.

Treasure it.

Dawn Treader: My Review

Spoiler Free: (or sort of, anyway)

I’ve been, as I’ve said to many, “cautiously optimistic” about this film for a very long time. Hoping for a great movie, but not putting too much of my faith into it.

I was amazed. The effects were phenomenal, the storyline was great, characters were excellently portrayed, the music was awesome. The jokes and humor weren’t slapstick, but were actually funny. The action scenes were amazingly well done, and the depth of the emotion in the more serious scenes brought me to tears numerous times.

To those of you who worry about the witch: don’t. Although it seems at times that she appears, she never is actually real or alive. The “green mist” is simply an evil force that tempts them: added to provide a contrasting idea in which they must fight against.

Spoiler: (highlight to read)

They took the idea of temptations in the book and used that as the sort of “antagonist” in the story to provide clash, opportunity for growth, and a climax. While I found it slightly overplayed at times, it did not ruin the overall themes of the story, nor did it affect the characters themselves.

There are still things I don’t like, things that shocked me when I first saw them, but hey – every movie will have them, and it’s not a perfect movie. But it definitely rises above the episode before it – it captures the characters well and the overall themes in the story are well preserved.

The beginning and the end are especially enrapturing. I’ll say no more on that. ;)

Read the full post here.

Also, if you live in the Seattle area or you are going to be in Seattle when it releases, and you haven't already received the facebook invite, you are invited to come see Dawn Treader with me on December 10th!! I'm trying to get tons of people so we can get a really good group rate. If you want more info, you can comment or email me and I'll get you details. (:

I definitely recommend seeing this movie. I think Narnia fans will be pleased and enjoy it. I laughed out loud, sat on the edge of my seat, and cried…Definitely worth watching.

I should not be this easily entertained.

But you know I am anyway.

Remember this post and this post? I am here to present you with another PURPLE FOOD!!

It's a Chinese purple yam pastry. And it's soooooooo good. (:

In other news, Dawn Treader was AMAZING. And it is also SNOWING outside. That's right. Snow, in Seattle, in November, sticking on the ground. In fact, as I speak, there are extremely large flakes coming down at a very fast pace. ::grin:: I went dancing about the house today and then for a romp in the snow with my dog. No co-op! And I leave for my grandma's house tomorrow.

Life is good! [=

What we've been waiting for

DAWN TREADER COMES OUT IN 23 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!

But guess what??? I am going to see it in TWO days!!!

Hear that echo? TWO!

I honestly can't believe it myself. This entire movie has been nothing but anticipation for years. And all of a sudden I'm going to go see it. It's sort of surreal.

So you're probably wondering why I'm seeing it 20 days before the release - basically I was invited to a special pre-screening. I am basically excited BEYOND WORDS. It's going to be amazing.

In the mean time, Carrie Underwood's new song (which will appear in the credits of the movie) was released today.

I was pretty skeptical about it at first, but so long as it's only in the credits, I think I'll be fine. Dawn Treader is, in a lot of ways, extremely different from the first two movies - and I think variation in the credits music is okay too.



In other news, there is also a Narnia exhibit in malls across the US called the "Ice Palace", and last weekend they had the Grand Opening Ceremony at the Ice Palace in LA - and one of our mods got to go to it AND, get this, MEET Georgie Henley (Lucy), Will Poulter (Eustace), and Michael Apted (director). Anyway. That was pretty exciting, even though I wasn't there. :P We've got exclusive reports and videos on Aslan's Country.

And, stay tuned, I'll soon have a review of the movie for you. :)

AHH! Life is so exciting. DAWN TREADER! yeahhh.

November Days

Oh, how I love fall!!

Happy November, everyone!

Two Hands

I took this picture several years ago...the words are from the song "two hands" by Jars of Clay.

I have a broken disposition
I’m a liar who thirsts for the truth
And while I ache for faith to hold me
I need to feel the scars and see the proof

I use one hand to pull closer
The other to push you away
If I had two hands doing the same thing
Lifted high, lifted high

Am I living my life with two hands lifted towards my Maker? Or do I use one hand to pull Him closer and the other to push Him away? Pushing Him away with things like the computer, the internet, books, music...those "pretty things" that steal my heart away from Him?

I've got voices in my head and they are so strong
And I'm getting sick of this oh Lord, how long
Will I be haunted by the fear that I believe
My hands like locks on cages
Of these dreams I can't set free

But if I let these dreams die
If I lay down all my wounded pride
If I let these dreams die
Will I find that letting go lets me come alive? (Empty My Hands, tenth avenue north)

We're so afraid to let go of these things we hold onto. We're afraid because it seems as though it's all we have. We can feel it, touch it, sense it, reach for it, even. But you can't hold onto the things of this world and reach for Christ at the same time. We try so hard to have both - but all we need is Christ. We can't serve God and something else. We can't have just one hand raised - we have to have two hands.

So empty my hands
Fill up my heart
Capture my mind with You!

It's that time of year again!

Narnia, tenth avenue north, purple, speech and debate....

Welcome to another post about something I love. (:

What should I do this year for my DI?

(vote on the poll)

For those of you not in speech (shame, you should be!) (just kidding) (well, sort of), a DI is a Dramatic Interpretation, and you basically act out a play with yourself, using material directly from a piece of literature you choose.

Last year I did it on Twenty and Ten. It was alright, but not nearly up to par with the rest of the stuff I was competing against.

Among this year's ideas are....

Pictures of Hollis Woods
I am in love with this book, but I'm really at loss as to how it would be interp'd. It's so....complicated. Not deep, like the next book. Just messy. =P

Till We Have Faces

I'm super excited about this one. It could be really good, but really, really hard because there's a lot of depth and quite possibly screaming and crying. Yeah. Dramatic.

The Tale of Despereaux
I'm not quite sure how I would do this, but I love the lesson/moral/simple depth/innocence of this book. It's sweet, and can be really dramatic if you make it.

Any other ideas? ::hopeful smile::

Pretty Ball for Louis!

Raise your hand if you ever got to see my Dramatic Interp last speech year.

No?

Didn't think so. It wasn't all that great, so don't ask me to do it for you. (sorry)

But I was thinking about this song...(yes, it's a Tenth Ave song, you'll have to put up with my random spazzes of obsessions if you're going to read this blog) called "all the pretty things". (and if you haven't seen the post about the concert, keep scrolling...)

Now in my opinion, I would have just called it "pretty things", but never mind that. =P

Back to this interp. This little kid wants this orange, and he calls it the "pretty ball", and that's really all that this song reminded me of. Something pretty that you want.

Here are the lyrics. Read them, they're not that long. Or better yet, listen to the actual thing.

We are, we are, we're caught in the in between
Of who we already are and who we are yet to be
And we're looking for love but finding we're still in need
It's only what we have lost will we be allowed to keep

And we're waiting but our eyes are wandering
To all this earth holds dear

Look at all the pretty things
That steal my heart away
I can feel I'm fading
‘Cause Lord I love so many things
That keep me from Your face
Come and save me

We run, we run to finally be set free
But we're fighting for what we already have received

So we're waiting but our eyes are wandering
To all this earth holds dear

Look at all the pretty things
That steal my heart away
I can feel I'm fading
‘Cause Lord I love so many things
That keep me from Your face
Come and save me

One of things that stood out to me at the concert (you're going to hear a lot about this concert for awhile, I have a feeling. Sorry. =P ) was what Mike said about idols. If we have something we idolize, that we put our time and self into, something that gets in the way of God...why do we expect Him to give us more of it?

This song reminds me a lot of the complacency of my own life. In between who I am and who I want to be. Not really going anywhere....stuck on wanting material things I can touch and feel and posses and have that's mine.

It's only what we have lost will we be allowed to keep.

Do you remember my Illustrated Oratory? That it was what I had lost, I had given to God, that I was actually allowed to keep - to actually take to Nationals?

It's only what we have lost will we be allowed to keep.

Jesus says that whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for His sake will find it. And not just "saving" his life, but even "desiring" to save his life. Just the simple act of desiring.

Desire isn't all bad - but it is when we refuse to let God's desires consume it.

When I was little, I loved gymnastics. I still really, really do. I remember having a conversation with God (not too terribly long ago) about how much I was doing in my life and if there was anything I should give up. And I kept thinking to myself/to God (rather defiantly) "Well. I'm not quitting gymnastics, God."

Immediately I realized the error of this statement...but even though I told God "sure, if you want me to quit gymnastics, I'm cool with that," I didn't really give that to God. I clung to it because I wanted it so badly. Desired. To keep it.

Guess who hasn't done gymnastics in over a year?

So I think to myself (oh, what a wretched heart I have) "Well. Maybe I can jinx it. If I give it up, maybe God will give it back."

Of course not. What God wants is total surrender. He wants my heart and He wants it completely. When my speech was disqualified, it was such a shock for me that I had absolutely nowhere to turn but to God - and He gave me the strength and the peace to accept what I could not keep on my own, made me to realize that it really was Him who had done this work in me - that it was none of my own doing. And then - He gave it back!

Look at the things of this world that tie our hearts down from being completely surrendered to God! Computers, clothes, jewelry, shoes...having nice school supplies, nice things in your house. A nice car, a nice this, a nice that. We crave the acceptance of others, yet we so often fail to crave what really matters - God.

We run, we run to finally be set free
But we're fighting for what we already have received

We try so hard be accepted - but we already are. God doesn't need us to prove ourselves to Him. He doesn't need us to build up a life that is perfect and good so that He can accept us. (unlike a lot of humans of the world) He accepts us as we are. Insignificant, worldly little scumbags (as Mike put it) who let such flighty, perishable things take captive of our hearts instead of the one who can really satisfy us.

Lord, I love so many things
That keep me from your face
Come and save me!

Fight Another Day

Last Friday evening I had the opportunity to go see Tenth Avenue North in concert for their "Light Meets Dark" tour.

This was sort of a...I really don't know. Little sparkle in life. And a very bright one at that. I don't get to do these things too often - in fact, I've never been to a non-classical/piano/symphony concert before in my life. (there's a homeschooler for ya) It was a totally new experience but a totally amazing one. I can't seem to get it out of my mind.

Part of it is the total amazingness of being in the same room with Addison Road and Tenth Avenue North...the hubbub of people everywhere...the massive amounts of lights and fog machines...the total excitement/awe/noise of first-time-at-a-concert.

That was all I was expecting to come away with - but there was more, and it was....amazing.

Mike Donehey is the lead singer for Tenth Ave - and he is a phenomenal speaker. I've said to quite a few people if he was a pastor, I would totally go to his church. He gave a short little message before they all came on...wow. Maybe it was just that I haven't heard anything like that for what feels like forever, and it was so powerful.

He talked about our how God accepts us in our brokenness, shame, and pain...and how great, awesome, and infinite His grace is that covers us despite our failures. How can we not live our lives for Christ in light of the sacrifice He made for us? His grace makes us new, it lifts us up and changes us from the inside out.

Agh. Right now, I really don't have words to say anything else about it. It was just...really, really good and I haven't had that in a long time. We'll cut to the pictures. =P

Super excited for our first concert!!!


Chris August opened up the concert - he was so funny. And he sang "Starry Night". I love that song. (go look it up.)


This is Addison Road. You can't really tell. =P But it is, I promise. That's Jenny Simmons, the lead singer, in the blue shirt under the green light. ;) I was super excited when I heard they were touring with Tenth Ave, and it was awesome to get to see them. Favorites among their songs: Hope Now, Sticking With You, Collide, Fight Another Day....


:D :D :D :D

Tenth Ave!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The worship was SO amazing. Especially on "Satisfy". If you haven't heard that song, you need to. Actually, if you haven't listened to Tenth Ave. at all, you need to. Their music is so powerful and so open. One thing I loved about it when Mike was speaking was how he saw himself as no different than any other person out there.



Okay.

Favorite Tenth Ave. songs that you MUST listen to.

You Are More (this music video is powerful. If you listen to none of the others, listen to this one.)
Strong Enough to Save
All the Pretty Things
Any Other Way
Empty My Hands
Satisfy
Break Me Down

Well. That took just about everything in me not to post the entirety of both of their AMAZING albums. So. Go listen to it. I don't think it's often that I so highly recommend music.

And so this post ends. Without grace or inspiration or anything super nice sounding because I'm completely out of it right now. I'll let the music do that. :)

In which I again direct readers to a website

::rubs hands together::

Yes, it's Aslan's Country.

Well, sort of.

See, we'd like to know how we can improve. So go to this little linky: http://www.clueapp.com/19687 and let us know what stands out on the site. What do you remember the most?

ps - new poll!! =D

You wait, little girl...

I've grown up watching the Sound of Music ever since I was old enough to understand the story. I always had fun identifying with a different Von Trapp child each time I watched it...first I was Gretel's age (5)...then Marta (7), Brigitta, Louisa, Kurt, Fredric (13 was pretty exciting.) and Liesel (16/17)

Liesel was always way too far up there. 16 is like. OLD.

Heh.

I remember when I was little, I used to look up to my 16-year old cousins with raptured awe...they were so old, they knew everything, and they were so smart, and oh! how I wanted to be like them.

Growing is such a strange thing. You're never ready for it, but that's all a part of what growing is. And you slowly adapt...life continues, and you...well, "grow" used to it.

At the end of this summer I was dreading being a junior. Now that it's actually started, I'm rather enjoying it - perhaps due to the fact that it's so many billions of millions of times better than my sophomore year.

15, like my friend Gray said, has lots of growing room. 16 is sort of a giant leap, but then you find you get used to it and rather like it. But 17...heh. I don't really want to leave 16 behind.

But, like anything else, even when I'm not ready to embrace change, I'll look back and realize that I wouldn't have done it any different. After all, one doesn't have a birthday every day, and I only have 4 days left to sing the famous 16 going on 17 song. (:



And like my friend Gray said in her 16-going-on-17-post, (which you should all go read because it describes my sentiments exactly, except that I'm not near as gracefully poetic/thoughtful/etc as she is - I got to the end of this post and realized how similar it is to hers. It's even posted at the same time, 4 days before turning 17.) it's not really a role model song, but every girl should sing it and make it last while they're 16 because...well, you can't ever legitimately sing it after that. (:

Three cheers for being old! (which, as L.M. Montgomery says, is a sign that you really are still very young.)

-Hannah

It was a sunny smile,
And little it cost in the giving.
But like morning light,
it scattered the night,
And made the day worth living.
-anonymous

Surprise for the Day

They've come out with a NEW Dawn Treader trailer!!

Okay, okay. I know you're probably dead sick of the endless posts about Aslan's Country, Narnia, Dawn Treader...bear with me. Only 63 days longer...then I'll calm down. (after I post a nice little review)

[WARNING: major spoilers!]



I love that we get to see more of Eustace - both as himself and as a dragon. There's a lot more of Dark Island, which worries me some because Edmund seems as if he's just about to give into whatever it is the White Witch is tempting him to do. In Prince Caspian, Edmund was the strongest against the White Witch's power - I'd hate to see him be so weak in this one.

The whole "searching-for-the-swords-to-save-Narnia" is pretty cheesy. Not ever Narnia book is about "the fate of Narnia rests on YOU!" sort of theme, but it seems like they've incorporated that into this movie. But if that's the only major change and they don't do any character changes, I think I'll be okay with it.

I'm loving Lilliandil. And Ramandu's Island - so far it's looking amazing.And the Magician's Island. We haven't seen very much of Narrowhaven except for fighting scenes.

Excitement grows!!

Life, by Me.

So, I thought I'd give you an actual update as to what I've been doing lately. Not that it's that fascinating or anything.

A couple weeks ago, I declared September 18th International John-Luke Day and took my brother out for the afternoon.

First, we went to Krispy Kremes (love!) for doughnuts.


Next we went to Gilman Village. Gilman Village is probably my favorite little shopping center ever, and if anyone wants to go shopping with me there, I would love you.

Took him into White Horse Toys, one of the many places I loved as a kid.


After several hours of discovery (John-Luke), reminiscing (me), and entertainment (both of us), we left to find things to eat. (PCC natural Markets)

Then we went to the Lego store (John-Luke's favorite) and spent an hour in there picking and choosing and admiring.

All in all, it was a rather tiring, but extremely fabulous day. (:

We also finally finished all filming for our movie, Deliver-E (which you can read more about Here)

This is the cast/crew of the last scene we shot: (minus John-Luke who is taking the picture)

Aside from insane amounts of schoolwork, life is good.

There are also two extremely exciting things that are quite possibly happening in the near future. If they happen, you will hear about it. If they don't....well. Then you won't. ;)

Oh! There's also a new poll on the sidebar. Mark Johnson, the producer of Dawn Treader, says he's willing to let fans decide what movie should be made next in the series.

Dawn Treader comes out in 65 days!!!

Aslan's Meditations: Before the Morning

Recently on Aslan's Country, we've started a weekly devotional posted every Monday morning to kickstart the week. This week I had the privilege of writing the devotional, so I thought I'd post it here. You can read the actual devotional here, and previous devotionals here. Enjoy!

Last week, AslansLily wrote about witnessing to those lost in the dark, like Lord Rhoop, lost in the darkness of his own desires. But so often, we ourselves run into the darkness - a different kind of darkness. We lose our way, we stumble, we forget about Christ. Whether it be the issues with friends, family, problems at work or school, our faith, at church - we all know the pain and desperation of darkness.

It's often hard to see the "end of the tunnel" in the midst of the things we run into in life. As my friend Problematic said, "sometimes the only light [you] can see at the end of the tunnel is the oncoming train."

But it is during these times, I have found, when all you see is darkness around you, that God is nearest to you.

Fear is a powerful thing. We've all experienced it - it seizes us with its all-encompassing grip and paralyzes even the best of our senses. This is the fear of the Dawn Treader crew as they circle round and round in Dark Island.

"We shall never get out, never get out," moaned the rowers. "he's steering us wrong. We're going round and round in circles. We shall never get out."

Depression, sadness, anxiety all work the same way. They take hold of us, each individually, from our own viewpoint and experiences.

And soon everyone was hearing things. Each one heard something different.

It's dangerous to allow these feelings to take hold of us -they begin to control our lives and it changes how we interact and see other people, and unless we give our fears to Christ, they can cause us to fall away from Him.

Philippians 4:6 encourages us to be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

Think about how amazing it would be if we could always be anxious for nothing! But Philippians says we can. And how? By prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving.

"Lucy leant her head on the edge of the fighting-top and whispered, "Aslan, Aslan, if ever you loved us at all, send us help now." The darkness did not grow any less, but she began to feel a little - a very, very little - better. "After all, nothing has really happened to us yet," she thought.

Philippians 4:6 continues into verse 7 to say that the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Prayer is an amazing thing that not only can accomplish many things but also, as Lucy experiences, changes our outlook on the situation as we give our situation to Him in faith.

Lewis notes that the darkness did not grow any less, but Lucy not only felt peace, but was also able to realize the positive side to their situation. Sometimes He calms the storm - other times, He calms His child.

Often times, however, we are afraid to allow God to work in our lives in this way. We're afraid of pain, of losing people we love. But in James 1, we are exhorted to count it all joy when we encounter these trials. To embrace a trial, something painful and dark, is the last thing we would imagine to do - but yet it is the attitude Lucy has as they enter Dark Island.

[Caspian:] "I suppose we shall have to go on. Unless Lucy would rather not?"
Lucy felt that she would very much rather not, but what she said out loud was, "I'm game."

One of the most beautiful things God has taught me is what He will do when we are willing to "sail into the dark." So often I have given in to the emotions of the present moment, forgetting about God, forgetting that He has orchestrated this for the reason of drawing me nearer to Himself!

When we truly find joy in the midst of pain - the joy that can only come from Christ, we realize that nothing else matters but that Christ is magnified in us - whether in the light or in the dark.

Habukkuk 3 says though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls - yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

I find it interesting that in the NKJV, "joy" is used as a verb. "I will joy in the God of my salvation."

It's what I like to call "joyful serenity made perfect with pain and sweetened with God's grace, blessings, and love."

It's the joy you find in the midst of the pain.
The peace you find to accept what you have lost.
The grace God gives you to give up what you know you cannot keep.
The blessings He lavishes upon you to show you His everlasting, eternal, all-encompassing love.

It's not bittersweet, because it's not both at once. It's not just plain happiness, because there is pain in there.

And then, what a glorious morning it is, when light begins to pierce the darkness! When suddenly - you can see a light at the end of the tunnel.

There was a tiny speck of light ahead, and while they watched a broad beam of light fell from it upon the ship. It did not alter the surrounding darkness, but the whole ship was lit up as if by a searchlight.

Note that the storm had not yet ended. It did not alter the surrounding darkness - but now they had a light to show them the way.

But no one except Lucy knew that as it circled the mast it had whispered to her, "Courage, dear heart," and the voice, she felt sure, was Aslan's.

And then, following the sweet voice of the albatross, before they knew it - they had broken out of the darkness and into the light.

And just as there are moments when simply to lie in bed and see the daylight pouring through your window...and to realise that it was only a dream: it wasn't real, is so heavenly that it was very nearly worth having the nightmare in order to have the joy of waking.

Read that again.

In order to have the joy of waking.

It's the darkness that makes the light beautiful. It's the pain that makes the healing wonderful.

The deep, meaningful joy is one that you cannot experience fully unless endured the pain beforehand.

Weeping may endure for a night - but joy comes in the morning. (Ps. 30:5)

And when the morning comes, we come through a different person. Renewed, strengthened, and in awe of God's grace and power.

...they had half expected to find that the darkness would cling to the white and the green and the gold in the form of some grime or scum...[but] the brightness of the ship herself astonished them...

We come through more like Christ, bearing more fruit for His glory. And this, dear friends, is our goal, is it not? To continually be more like Christ - no matter what it takes. He is our strength, our life, our everything - and the continual source of all joy.

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4, NASB)

Meditation 1, First Series
By Edward Taylor

What love is this of thine, that Cannot bee
In thine Infinity, O Lord, Confinde,
Unless it in thy very person see,
Infinity, and Finity Conjoyn'd?
What hath thy Godhead, as not satisfide
Marri'de our Manhood, making it its Bride?

Oh, Matchless Love! Filling Heaven to the brim!
O're running it: all running o're beside
This World! Nay Overflowing Hell; wherein
For thine Elect, there rose a mighty Tide!
That there our Veans might through they Person bleed,
To quench those flames, that else would on us feed.

Oh! that they Love might overflow my Heart!
To fire the same with Love: for Love I would
But oh! my streight'ned Breast! my Lifeless Sparke!
My Fireless Flame! What Chilly Love, and Cold?
In measure small! In Manner Chilly! See.
Lord, blow the Coal: Thy Love Enflame in mee.

Coming soon...

...to a DVD near you!!!

Brand new DELIVER-E trailer! Check it out over on our facebook page and our blog

True Obsession.

I love this song.



I was just going to leave it at that, but then my awesome cousin-in-law Mandy wrote this on her blog yesterday. (isn't it cool how God coordinates things like that?)

Children are often described as sponges - they pick up and put out everything around them. If God has asked us to be like children, then we should be very aware that we will put out whatever we surround ourselves with. If we surround ourselves with the spirit of God, then we will display the character of God. If we soak, then we'll have a little something to squeeze out. If we soak MORE, how much more filled will you be when someone else in your world feels dry?

(you can read the whole - very amazing - post here)

Lord, this is my prayer. I want obsessed with knowing You, to be surrounded with Your Spirit, so that my sponge is full of nothing but You.

Must-See

There are several movies coming out this year/next year that I'm particularly excited about.

If you don't know already - I'm a huge fan of quality, Christian movies, and whenever they come out, I give them as much support as I can, and there are a LOT of good movies coming out this year.

Coming up first (although not explicitly Christian) is the one and only The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader



While I'm not positive on how well this is going to follow the book, (the closer we get to the release, the more nervous us Narnia-fans get) I am positive it will be a fairly decent movie. Plus, I am just SO. EXCITED. for it to come out!!!!!! December 10th, everyone.

Next up is Courageous, from the Sherwood Pictures, the people who made Facing the Giants and Fireproof, some of my favorite movies. They don't have a trailer that I can find, but here's where the Alex and Stephen Kendrick explain what it's about.



I'm really excited about this, because Sherwood Pictures have a great reputation and have made some really amazing movies that have inspired and encouraged me. I'm not terribly overly obsessed with it because it's looking slightly like Fireproof in that it's really targeted at adults and not really for the younger generation. However, I have no doubt that there will be something in it for everyone, even if it's targeted towards adults. It's coming out in 2011...not quite sure when.

Next is Rogue Saints



I don't know a whole lot about this movie, because the descriptions on the site aren't all that detailed, and I've never heard of these people before. But I personally know quite a few people who have worked on this movie, and the basic storyline is a Christian one. It makes me really excited to see more and more movie makers coming out with Christian movies - because our culture so badly needs it!

I heard about What If on the radio, so I checked it out. I'm excited for the message this movie is sharing, and especially that it's showing in theaters. The general feel I get from the trailer is that it's not the greatest movie ever, but I've never seen it, so I could be wrong.



And Upside.
The plot is almost exactly the same as What If, but it's got a hilariously original twist and looks like it is much better written. I don't think it was ever in theaters, but it's coming out on dvd soon, and I'm super excited for it.



Lastly, and one that gets me the most eager to support, is from HeuMoore Productions, who made The Widow's Might. These people really inspire me, because they started out as just a homeschooling family making amateur films, just like us (Snowtop Studios), and they've grown so much in just a few years. The Widow's Might beat Fireproof at the SAICFF (San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival), and it's an amazing film. (So's Fireproof, but just saying.)

Their next movie is set to release in Summer 2011 (like Courageous), and I'm SO excited for it. It looks really exciting and very promising.



Gator Moore (who plays that little detective guy) is such a fun actor.... hee. And I'm just super excited not only for this movie, but for this company: God can use them to do huge things, and I'm so excited to see what He will do with this movie.