The Loss of a Musical Genius

We are all upset to hear about the unsuspected passing of Michael Jackson- Pop King. When you hear the name Michael Jackson, you think "Thriller" "Billy Jean" "Beat It" and much more. No other artist can compete with his record sales. The music today's generation is inspired by Jackson, and wouldn't be the same without him. His impact on the world of culture will forever be remembered. I was in the car and a radio station was playing only songs of Jackson, saying "we are celebrating musical genious." TV news and entertainment stations are COVERED with Jackson's story and the latest up-to-date news. Fans cry out at the loss of this legend, everyone will be reliving their youth, and learning more about Jackson over the next few days, and we should remember him as a good soul whose talents were like no other. My prayers and good thoughts are with Jackson's family and friends during this difficult time.

R.I.P. Michael Jackson - You will be deeply missed and forever remembered.

Summer Vacation

So I know I haven't blogged anything in a while but now that I am done with school until September I will have a chance to update this thing a lot more! Along with all the sleep that come with summer, I'm excited to be able to do a lot of things I always want to do during the school year, like reading books. All sorts of books from a to z. If anyone knows of ANY good books that you recommend, let me know, I'll put it at the top of my list. This summer I'm also taking the opportunity to be a CIT (Counsellor In Training) at Camp Wilmot in New Hampshire. It's for 2 weeks...I've never been gone for more than a week, so it will be a very new and exciting experience for me and I can't wait! I'm also going on a mission trip with my church to Mississippi to help people who's houses were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina a few years ago which I'm also pumped about. Then there's the usual summer activities such as, goofing off with friends, VBS, sleeping, swimming, tannig, reading, jammin out with my guitar, oh and that AP Biology summer work I have to do...that'll all be my "fun in the sun" summer...CAN'T WAIT!

Praise Him!

I notice a lot of the time when we pray to God we like to ask him for stuff: healing a loved one, keeping people safe, a good grade, security. It's great to ask him for this, to ask for help and guidance in our lives, but shouldn't we praise him a little more? Whenever something goes wrong we might say "Aw God why did you do that!" or "I think God must be out to get me" Do we ever praise him enough? Is there ever enough praise we can give him? The God that sent his Son into the world to save all of man from their sins, the God that provides us with unconditional love forever and always, the God that always forgives you when you sin (cause face it, we're all sinners). Is there ever enough praise we send his way, like "Oh God thank you for this day!" or "God thank you for your love!".

In Exodus 15 Moses and the Israelites sang a song to God, proclaiming their praise and love for him.
"I'm singing my heart out to God-what a victory! He pitched horse and rider into the sea. God is my strength, God is my song, and yes! God is my salvation. This is the kind of God I have and I'm telling the world!"
-The Message

How amazing is that? "I'm singing my heart out to God-what a victory!" The joy they get in saying "Hey God is my everything and I lift his name up in the highest praise!" To be able to praise God is a great thing! To show him that we love him so much for everything he has done and yet to do is rewarding, however you do it. There is a song I really like that's sung by Mandisa (I'm not sure who originally wrote it) and it's called Shackles. The chorus is:

"Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise You
I just wanna praise You
You broke the chains, now I can lift my hands
And I'm gonna praise You
I'm gonna praise You"

So Let's show our love for God and PRAISE him. Shout it out! Because he is always there, through the dark and through the storms, he is always there. And that my friends, is something worth praising.