xox,
Ellie:)
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
What Christmas is really about!
2 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed,[b] who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
The Shepherds and the Angels
8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.Jesus Presented at the Temple
22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant[d] depart in peace,
according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation
31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”
according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation
31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”
33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.[e] She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.The Return to Nazareth
39 And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.I've learned that I love presents and the gifts under the tree. But presents and gifts don't compare to Jesus' love. He loves us so much he died for us. We went against him. We did not listen to him. We disobeyed him. But he still died for us. He gave his life for us. He is so powerful. I've learned that I don't need presents this year. I just need Jesus. He is my Savior! He is always there for me! He is my God! I love him! I hope you think the same about him too!
xox,
Ellie:)
Monday, December 16, 2013
A Different Side of Me
I know I've been kind of 'dead' for the last week. I haven't been posting any music reviews. Though I like a lot of songs, I don't feel inspired.
So I'm going to tell you guys about another side of me: my fictional writing side. Though I've admitted I write fiction before, I've never talked about it. The truth is, I plan to be an author. It's something I've dreamed about ever since I was nine or ten.
I started writing fairy tales when I was ten. They were short stories or mini novels. I thought I'd never leave my kingdom story world. I loved my stories and planned to make a career out of those. I had it all planned out. But then...
He came along.
He was one of the very first characters I imagined. A lot of stories in my head were based on movies or books I had read. There was nothing out of my actual imagination. But he was new. He was different. At first, he was this perfect character that I loved and hated to see make a mistake. It's hard to believe that now.
I wanted to keep him a secret. I decided he should be a little story world in my mind only. Only I knew him and the story. I never thought I'd bring it out in the open. With this idea, I did. He lead to my very first novel. In the end, I actually started hating. But it made me realize that I didn't have to hold it back. It was the first 'long' book I had written.
Afterwards, I began on another project with the same secret story world. I worked it in the first person. It was really great. I started a series with his best friend. I can't tell you how fun and great it was to write these books. The greatest part about it was that every book was better than the last.
No, I haven't got it published. I've only showed it to four people. Maybe I never will get it published. Though the future is uncertain, it's a blessing. I've learned to keep God the center of what I do through it. I was able to express myself in ways I can't express with talking. With these characters, Ellie and I have created a game. Every night we get in bed and stay up for a half hour at most. It's so much fun! The story is a part of me now. Someday I will fully express it, but not until I improve it more.
What's the point of this post? Well, I want you guys to know that you shouldn't hold anything back. In my experiences, it's good to keep things in your head, but you never know what will happen if you pick up a pen and write. It doesn't have to be a writing thing. The point is don't hold back an idea you have, even if its crazy. You'll never know what it can turn it into. That story I kept in my head is so much different now, in a good way.
So I'm going to tell you guys about another side of me: my fictional writing side. Though I've admitted I write fiction before, I've never talked about it. The truth is, I plan to be an author. It's something I've dreamed about ever since I was nine or ten.
I started writing fairy tales when I was ten. They were short stories or mini novels. I thought I'd never leave my kingdom story world. I loved my stories and planned to make a career out of those. I had it all planned out. But then...
He came along.
He was one of the very first characters I imagined. A lot of stories in my head were based on movies or books I had read. There was nothing out of my actual imagination. But he was new. He was different. At first, he was this perfect character that I loved and hated to see make a mistake. It's hard to believe that now.
I wanted to keep him a secret. I decided he should be a little story world in my mind only. Only I knew him and the story. I never thought I'd bring it out in the open. With this idea, I did. He lead to my very first novel. In the end, I actually started hating. But it made me realize that I didn't have to hold it back. It was the first 'long' book I had written.
Afterwards, I began on another project with the same secret story world. I worked it in the first person. It was really great. I started a series with his best friend. I can't tell you how fun and great it was to write these books. The greatest part about it was that every book was better than the last.
No, I haven't got it published. I've only showed it to four people. Maybe I never will get it published. Though the future is uncertain, it's a blessing. I've learned to keep God the center of what I do through it. I was able to express myself in ways I can't express with talking. With these characters, Ellie and I have created a game. Every night we get in bed and stay up for a half hour at most. It's so much fun! The story is a part of me now. Someday I will fully express it, but not until I improve it more.
What's the point of this post? Well, I want you guys to know that you shouldn't hold anything back. In my experiences, it's good to keep things in your head, but you never know what will happen if you pick up a pen and write. It doesn't have to be a writing thing. The point is don't hold back an idea you have, even if its crazy. You'll never know what it can turn it into. That story I kept in my head is so much different now, in a good way.
This proves you can learn something from this childish animated movies.
Friday, December 13, 2013
The Hobbit 2!:)
We're going to see the Hobbit today! Recently, I read the Lord of the Rings books and all of my family started getting into the Lord of the Rings. We don't usually see movies in theaters and we've never seen a movie the day it comes out so this is going to be epic!
Ed Sheeran wrote a amazing song for the movie. I thought I'd share it with you guys.
Monday, December 2, 2013
Music Review Monday #12: Give Me Love (Ed Sheeran)
Once again, I'm reviewing a British dude. No, it's not One Direction. (I won't be doing any of that for awhile) This time I'm going to review another guy who made his big debut to the USA in 2012 with 'The A Team.' His name is Ed Sheeran.
Now Ed Sheeran's style is a little different from most guys. While other men have a lot of loud songs, his music is quiet and soft. It's more acoustic and he has a soft and sensitive voice than is hard to come by. Last year, he penned One Direction's hit, 'Little Things' and this year, he contributed to Taylor Swift's hit, 'Everything Has Changed.' Also, he has been on tour with her all this year.
His latest single from his USA debut album, +, is called 'Give Me Love.' Its a soft rock that is sad. In it, he made the mistake of letting a girl go and speaks of it in his song.
"Give me love like her," he starts off. Immediately, he suggests that when his lover and him were together, they did some sleeping. "'Cuz lately I've been waking up alone/Pain splattered teardrops on my shirt/I told them I'd let you go."
He also sings that in order to take the pain away, he drinks. (In various songs, he mentions drinking) "Maybe tonight I'll call ya/After my blood turns to alcohol/Oh, I just wanna hold ya."
He begs the girl give him a second chance. "Oh, give a little time to me/Or burn this out/We'll play hide and seek/To turn this around/All I want is the taste that your lips allow/Give me love." The song goes on like that until after the second chorus. Crying out in a angry, and even forceful way, "Love me!", he sings, rather screams, this phrase many times. Afterwards, it quiets down and repeats for more than a minutes, "Give me love."
Though I do love Ed Sheeran's style, I must say that many of his songs aren't clean. This song is sweet and pretty, until when he's practically screaming. It leads me to think he's begging her to be sexual with him, as his many other songs do.
In other songs, there is one popular line, "I can't live without you." Some breakup songs, like this one, speak of ending their pain by alcohol or partying, but we know this isn't the way. Why do they sing about stuff like that? Because the thing there's trying to please, is the world. In the world, this life is all they have. They don't want to think of other possibility. That's why there's many party songs with lines like, "We sleep when we die."
But the truth is that when you have Jesus, you don't need anyone else. You don't have to go to drugs or alcohol when someone leaves you, because with Jesus, you don't need anything or anyone. Of course, you dearly love the people around you and your life would be much different without them. But you don't have to fear when they do leave you, because God gives us strength to go on. We don't have trust other things to take our pain away because God is completely satisfying.
While I love Ed Sheeran's style of music, and I do like the chorus of this song, I'm not fond of his music because, though his music is soft and quiet, it talks about sex, drugs, and alcohol. This song isn't much different.
The only song Ed Sheeran song I do know that is clean is 'Lego House.' So you can check that out.
Now Ed Sheeran's style is a little different from most guys. While other men have a lot of loud songs, his music is quiet and soft. It's more acoustic and he has a soft and sensitive voice than is hard to come by. Last year, he penned One Direction's hit, 'Little Things' and this year, he contributed to Taylor Swift's hit, 'Everything Has Changed.' Also, he has been on tour with her all this year.
His latest single from his USA debut album, +, is called 'Give Me Love.' Its a soft rock that is sad. In it, he made the mistake of letting a girl go and speaks of it in his song.
"Give me love like her," he starts off. Immediately, he suggests that when his lover and him were together, they did some sleeping. "'Cuz lately I've been waking up alone/Pain splattered teardrops on my shirt/I told them I'd let you go."
He also sings that in order to take the pain away, he drinks. (In various songs, he mentions drinking) "Maybe tonight I'll call ya/After my blood turns to alcohol/Oh, I just wanna hold ya."
He begs the girl give him a second chance. "Oh, give a little time to me/Or burn this out/We'll play hide and seek/To turn this around/All I want is the taste that your lips allow/Give me love." The song goes on like that until after the second chorus. Crying out in a angry, and even forceful way, "Love me!", he sings, rather screams, this phrase many times. Afterwards, it quiets down and repeats for more than a minutes, "Give me love."
Though I do love Ed Sheeran's style, I must say that many of his songs aren't clean. This song is sweet and pretty, until when he's practically screaming. It leads me to think he's begging her to be sexual with him, as his many other songs do.
In other songs, there is one popular line, "I can't live without you." Some breakup songs, like this one, speak of ending their pain by alcohol or partying, but we know this isn't the way. Why do they sing about stuff like that? Because the thing there's trying to please, is the world. In the world, this life is all they have. They don't want to think of other possibility. That's why there's many party songs with lines like, "We sleep when we die."
But the truth is that when you have Jesus, you don't need anyone else. You don't have to go to drugs or alcohol when someone leaves you, because with Jesus, you don't need anything or anyone. Of course, you dearly love the people around you and your life would be much different without them. But you don't have to fear when they do leave you, because God gives us strength to go on. We don't have trust other things to take our pain away because God is completely satisfying.
While I love Ed Sheeran's style of music, and I do like the chorus of this song, I'm not fond of his music because, though his music is soft and quiet, it talks about sex, drugs, and alcohol. This song isn't much different.
The only song Ed Sheeran song I do know that is clean is 'Lego House.' So you can check that out.
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