It's Christmas!

Happy Christmas to all and to all a happy Christmas! I was the first one up this morning. It was still slightly dark out. I turned on my Christmas lights and watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The Jim Carrey one, of course. My favorite Christmas movie. It's Christmas. So bye! :)

Fixing Fixing

So many things have been breaking down recently. Needing fixing, fixing! Thankfully we recently got our car fixed. But my phone is still crazy. We took the truck in to get an oil change and there's apparently other things that need fixing. Our washer is broken. My mom and sisters went to the Laundromat. They were nice and took my laundry. I needed to stay home and finish all of my scrapbooking. I'm hoping to finish soon so I can mail it out before they move. So I scrapping I will go...

Talents

Part of the lesson at Church today was on the parable of the talents. If you're unfamiliar, feel free to read the scriptures below before reading on.

Matthew 25:14-30 NIV
¹⁴ “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. ¹⁵ To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. ¹⁶ The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. ¹⁷ So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. ¹⁸ But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
¹⁹ “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’
²¹ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
²² “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’
²³ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
²⁴ “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵ So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
²⁶ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? ²⁷ Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
²⁸ “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. ²⁹ For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. ³⁰ And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

This is talking about money. The two were able to multiply what they'd been given. The third was greedy and tried to hide it away. In doing so he gained nothing. Rather he lost even that through his wickedness. He was thrown into the darkness, where there was a weeping and gnashing of teeth! Intense! God gives us so much. We need to be good stewards of it. To me this is talking about more than just money. Everything we have has been entrusted to us by God. Our wealth, our families, our gifts and talents. We should use all we have been given to glorify God. When we use our talents, they improve and become stronger. We may also acquire new talents. The more we do good for God, the more He will bless us, making us even more capable to do His work. By building our skillset and skill level. He sees how we glorify Him and He LOVES that. I've been thinking about this a lot lately. People often tell me that I sing well and should sing in front of people more often. But sometimes I don't think that I am actually that good. You know. Compared to so many others. But recently I'm realizing that it shouldn't matter what I think. It only matters what God thinks. So no matter how I may feel about it, I am going to try to be a better steward with the gifts that God has given me. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be sent into the darkness with gnashing of teeth. No thank you! Talents, get ready to be used! I posted a video on YouTube yesterday of the song I wrote to God. It's not perfect. But I did it in the hopes of glorifying God. If you care to check it out, you can find it in yesterday's post.

There was a quote I heard in Church today. I really liked it.

"In God, invest. And you will be blessed."

On Your Side (Original Song)

I uploaded a new video today!!! Finally! It's one of my original songs. I wrote it a couple of weeks ago. The house was empty and silent. So I brought out my Yeti, turned on my computer, grabbed my guitar, and well, see for yourself. I hope you like it! I had fun making it. :)

 

 

On Your Side

 

When I wake up in the morning
Whether sunshine or it's pouring
All I want to do is be with You
No matter what I'm going through
If it's right or if it's wrong
You are the only song
Fill me up with all Your love
In Your arms

CHORUS
Lord, stay with me all my life
Hold me, keep me in the light
I praise You every day and night
Thank You for the will to fight
On Your side

Through the good times and the bad
When I'm happy, angry, ecstatic or oh so sad
I know You're there, I feel You Dad
Holding me tight
In Your loving hands

(chorus)

When it all comes down to it
By Your side, I'm sure to win
The battle's raging, forever I chose You
Yeah, You chose me too

(chorus)

Lord, stay with me all my life
Thank You for the will to fight
On Your side

Yeah, I'm always on Your side
And You're on mine

 



Make Good Choices

It's what my mommy always says. So I decided to edit one of the many photos I've taken of my beach and put the quote on it. Yeah. I love how it turned out. You? So I posted it. Instagram.

6:00 AM

Today was a pretty cool day. I did hot yoga at 6:00 am with my favorite teacher. She's the best. That's why I woke up. Because I knew it was going to be awesome! And it was. So refreshing for my body. My days and nights are so filled that the only time I have free to take a hot yoga class is early in the morning. Before the sun comes up. I have ump-teen classes left on my Groupon and it expires August 20. But I'll be away on a trip, so I have to use them all up before I leave on August 1. Yeah. I'm kind of excited. More 6:00 am classes, here I come!

There is a website that I love where I go to watch all of my favorite TV shows. It has so many shows. Basically every season. And it's current. Which is ridiculously amaze-beans. But it didn't have one of my favorite shows. I had gotten so behind on the show that I couldn't watch it when it came on TV because I hadn't watched so many episodes before. So I was a little bummin'. While on my break today, I happened to go on the site and saw that they ADDED THE TV SHOW!!! I was so excited! Jumping up and down. Seriously. So stoked! Gahh! Now I can finally catch up! Hooray!

Amnesia

Song of the Week:

Amnesia - Justin Young

"Suddenly when you came to me, all of the things in my past started to fade into black."

Listen! :)

 



White House Down

Today was an interesting day filled with a plethora of activities. We woke up early to go into work to take a First Aid and CPR training course in order to get certified. It was actually pretty fun. We had a good teacher. Then I went back to the hotel with my sisters. We took a little "nap" before heading out to go shopping. Then I went to the movies with my mom and Gayle and watched White House Down. And Channing Tatum didn't die! So I was happy. It was so good! Loved it! After that my mom and I went shopping, eating, etc. Good times.

 

 

HAPPY 4th of JULY!!!

For Independence Day, I went independently to the movies and watched The Internship. Finally! The only theater that was still playing was the $5 theater. So that was pretty cool I guess. Haha. I loved that movie, obviously. Hello, Dylan O'Brien. Need I say more. Nope! How cool would it be to work at Google?! So cool! I seriously want one of those bikes right now. Look at them!

 

Okay. Picture time...

 

 

After all of that independent business of mine, I went home and my mom asked if we wanted to stay at a hotel. Sure! So we are having a girls weekend. Whoop whoop. My mom, my two sisters and I. Fun! We ate at California Pizza Kitchen for dinner. Peeked out for a minute to watch the fireworks.

Mirrors

Song of the week:

Mirrors - Justin Timberlake

"You were right here all along. It's like you're my mirror."

Here's a lyric video:

 



Cotton Candy Frappuccino

I finally tried the Cotton Candy Frap from Starbucks. It was a tall Vanilla Bean Frappuccino with a pump of raspberry. Yeah. It totally tasted just like cotton candy. So funny! It wasn't my favorite drink ever, but I had to give it a try. It kept seeing it on Instagram and YouTube. So yeah, I gave in.

Here's a picture of what it looks like.

I got the picture from Google.

It's so pink!

 



Broken Car

Our car broke down. My mom was on her way to the dentist when it started acting up. Thankfully she was able to make it safely to the dentist. But she called me to pick her up when she was done. But the next thing I know, she's back at work! What?! Yeah, my mom prayed the car would work. And it did. It's going to get towed on Thursday and get fixed.

It's crazy how God works, you know. It was totally God that it hadn't broken down on me since my phone has been acting up. That would have been terrible! Yeah, my phone works and doesn't work. Eventually I'll do something about it. Maybe. I just keep praying for it to work and it eventually does. It's a nuisance, but hey, that's how it is sometimes.

More Pot Roast Say the People

I had made my delicious Pot Roast yesterday for the outdoor Church service potluck, but my family didn't get their fill. So I made another batch today. They were quite happy. I was too. I came home from doing my hot yoga and scarfed it down! Probably not the best idea, but hey, it was so tasty!

Beach Service & Shave Ice

We had a beach service for church today! Out at Magic Island. I was so sad because my phone was still out of commission, so I was unable to take any pictures with it. Super bummed. It was beautiful. But you know, sometimes you just have to enjoy the beauty while you are in the situation. Even though with today's technology, it seems like everyone everywhere is looking to snap it, post it, share it. Which I love, obviously. But it is healthy to take a step back, breathe, and enjoy life. So maybe my glitchy phone is a hidden blessing. Take control and focus away from my phone and onto better things. Such as my Heavenly Father! :)

After church we got shave ice from Waiola Shave Ice! My favorite!!! Waiola's is the absolute best!

Couple of pics from last Thanksgiving.

My favorite - Strawberry Cream with Ice Cream. Yum!

Me and Kulia :)

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

HAPPY BiRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BiRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BiRTHDAY DEAR BEST MOMMY IN THE WORRLLLLDDDD! HAPPY BiRTHDAY TO YOU! :)

Mommy slept in this morning. So I went to go help out and cook breakfast for a volunteer group thing. This afternoon, I sang to my mommy the song that I wrote for her birthday present. She cried. Success! Haha. I'm hoping to put it up on YouTube. Well, eventually. I've been so busy it's ridiculous. I don't even remember the last time I even put up a video. Redic! We went to dinner at Dave n Buster's to celebrate her birthday. Nom nom.

I love my mommy :)

Man of Steel

My phone has been acting up the past couple of days. Super bummer! And by "acting up," I mean that it won't turn on. It's doing its whole buzzy buzzy thing again. This happened like 6 months ago, and it fixed itself. So I'm kind of just praying that it fixes itself again. I don't want to spend money on a new phone. I like this one. I just want it to work...

After work, I watched Man of Steel with some of my friends. And oh my goodness! That movie was awesome!

Lil' Superman!

Glasses! Love!

My favorite...

Sunrise & A House

I ran home quickly as it started raining on me this morning. Crazy weather, I tell ya! But yesterday I took some cool pictures on my morning walk/run. The sunrise. And a crazy awesome house that's fun to look at. I forgot to post them, so here they are. :)

Fish in the Sea

I ran for a while this morning. It was awesome! Refreshing and all that jazz. We went to the Aquarium today. I like fish. There are so many different kinds. Big ones. Little ones. Beautiful colored ones. I wonder if the plainer fish are jealous of their beauty, or if they don't even notice. Do fish fall in love? The saying that says that there are plenty other fish in the sea has always made me laugh. Like, um, hello, I don't want a fish! This picture is funny though.

Stand Firm

After work I had another Bible Study with one of the teen girls. It was about motives. Her motives for wanting to study the Bible. Her motives on pursuing and building a relationship with God. This got me thinking back to when I was studying the Bible. Before I was baptized and decided to fully dedicate my life to God. At first I wanted to study the Bible because I was impacted by seeing people live out their faith. My motives were part awe, part curiosity. I knew I loved God, but I was unsure of what that meant for my life exactly. During my studies, I was connecting intellectually, but I knew something was missing. I knew God loved me and that he sent his Son to die on the cross for me. But it took me a while before I truly felt it deep in my heart. And once I realized that, there was no turning back. I knew that a life with God was the best way. The ONLY way. Each day I strive to do better, be better, live better. For God. Do what pleases Him and brings Him joy. To make Him smile. Because ultimately it is His opinion that matters. Who cares if the world doesn't agree? Who cares if people think I'm crazy? Who cares if I get teased and persecuted for my faith in Jesus Christ? Not me! I pray that for the rest of my life, I continue to stand firm in the faith I profess. That I may cling to God with all my might and never ever ever let go.

Proverbs 10:25 NIV
"When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever."

Isaiah 7:9 NIV
"...If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all."

Matthew 10:22 NIV
"You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved."

Luke 21:19 NIV
"Stand firm, and you will win life"

1 Corinthians 10:12 NIV
"So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!"

1 Corinthians 15:58 NIV
"Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

1 Corinthians 16:13 NIV
"Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong."

Hide Your Love Away

Song of the week:

Hide Your Love Away - Anthem Lights

"Wherever you are right now, you're already the love of my life."

Here's a lyric video of the song.

I don't know your name yet
I've never even seen your face 
I'm looking with my eyes wide open 
Til I find you in the right time and place

Hide your love away
Wait for me, wait for me
I will do the same
Wait for me, wait for me
There will come a day
When i will finally say
Staring in your eyes...

I've waited my whole life for this night

Every day you're prayed for...
I'm dreaming of you every night
Where ever you are right now
You're already the love of my life 

Hide your love away
Wait for me, wait for me
I will do the same
Wait for me, wait for me
There will come a day 
When I will finally say
Staring in your eyes...

I've waited my whole life for this night

I'm holding on for you 
My heart belongs to you
You're everything that I adore [2x]

Darling your love is spoken for

Hide your love away
Wait for me, wait for me
I will do the same
Wait for me, wait for me 
With every breath you take
Wait for me, wait for me
I will do the same
Wait for me, wait for me
There will come a day
When finally I say
Staring in your eyes
I've waited my whole life
Staring in your eyes...

I've waited my whole life
For this night

I don't know your name yet...

Anthem Lights talking about the meaning of the song

Good Company

After church, my belly and back were very sore. We had a little "Baby Shower-ish Celebration" for someone at Taco Bell/Pizz Hut at the mall. But due to my soreness, I ate a Panda Bowl of Mixed Veggies and Mushroom Chicken. Yum. And I got a sweet fortune. My sister and I went straight home afterwards since I wasn't feeling too hot. I fell asleep. When I woke up, Tokyo Drift was starting on TV. So we watched it. Man, I forgot so much of that movie! Now I remember.

"Good company" always reminds me of that song Good Company from the movie Oliver and Company. I LOVE that song! It would always make me cry for some reason. Gosh! It's so stinkin' cute! That little girl!

You and me

Together we'll be

Forever you'll see

We two can be good company

You and me

Yes, together we two

Together, that's you

Forever with me

We'll always be good company

You and me

Together we'll be

Forever you'll see

We'll always be good company

You and me

Just wait and see

Goodnight Oliver

Sometimes You Don't Know What You Think You Know

It took me hours! But I finally learned a way to change the cut size quicker than having to do it letter by letter. Thank goodness, but it makes me feel like a kinda wasted my time to only have cut out two pages. And the first page came out wrong, so I had to chuck it. So here is all I got done in two and a half hours. Basically nothing. Shame shame.

Anthem Lights

Yup! My legs are killer! I could hardly walk. But I woke up. I went out. And I did it. Kaleo came with me this morning. So that was nice. Sister bonding time.

Okay. I love Anthem Lights. New favorite band. I am so happy that I found them. Anthem Lights is a Christian band, and I love them. Their original songs are so good. I love singing them and worshipping God. They also do covers of popular songs. They do them once a month. So people who don't normally listen to Christian music will stumble across their covers, and perhaps listen to some of their original songs. And da da da yeah. Great idea. All for the glory of God. Here are some of my favorite covers. Watch them and you shall see what I am talking about! Watch them all! Better yet, visit their YouTube page and watch every single one of their videos!

This is the first song I ever heard them sing. It came on my Phillip Phillips Pandora Station while my sister and I were cleaning the classroom. We immediately stopped what we were doing and just listened. In love, we fell! So this song will always have a special place in my heart because it's how I FINALLY listened to, and fell in love with Anthem Lights.

"Call me maybe at a payphone wide awake and standing on a starship waiting while we're young tonight." :)

"Heaven's got a plan for you."

"You are loved. No mistake. You are perfectly made."

JT & MJ

Exercise
Walk (35 min)

My June 2013 Self Portrait

I didn't walk for as long as usual this morning. One, because my legs were still a little bit sore from yesterday. And two, because I couldn't stop stopping to watch the sunrise on the ocean, and the reflection on the mountain. Just look at the next three pictures. Beautiful!

Every month I have all of my students draw their self portrait. So my lead teacher and I decided to draw ours as well. Here is my June 2013 Self Portrait. :) And yes, that's what I was wearing when I drew this picture. If you were wondering.

Exercise

Walk/Run (25 min)

Can't Get Over You

Song of the week:

Can't Get Over You - Anthem Lights

"I can't get over the way Your love stays the same, oh Lord."

Here's a video of their acoustic performance of this song.

I love the way You love like no other
It's got nothing to do with anything that I do
Time and time again You forgive me
So this time I choose to stay here with You

Hold me
Pull me just a little bit closer
I don't wanna lose this moment
Your love has covered me
And now I can't get over You
I can't get over You
I can't get over You
I just can't get over You

Here in the arms of my Father
Only grace can be found
So I lay my fears down
Nothing is the same anymore
You've changed me from the inside out
Now my heart is beating and it's singing won't You...

Hold me
Pull me just a little bit closer
I don't wanna lose this moment
Your love has covered me
And now I can't get over You
I can't get over You
I can't get over You
I just can't get over You

I can't get over You

I can't get over the way
Your love stays the same, oh Lord
I can't get over the way
Your love stays the same

Even through the good and the bad times
You stay the same
So my song will remain
Lord...

Hold me
Pull me just a little bit closer
I don't wanna lose this moment
Your love has covered me
And now I can't get over You
I can't get over You
I can't get over You
I just can't get over You

I can't get over You
I can't get over You
There's nothing I can do
I just can't get over You

I can't get over You

Anthem Lights talking about the meaning of the song