Finding Faith Through Music and Lyrics

“To switch your feet means to take a new stance, facing the opposite direction. It’s about change and movement, a different way of approaching life and music.” Switchfoot is a Grammy nominated band that started off in the Christian rock scene but later reached mainstream recognition from the movie, A Walk To Remember.  Creating music for thinkers and Christians, Switchfoot’s lyrics tend to be full of thought provoking phrases and belief.  Although many who listen to Switchfoot are not Christian, they can relate to what message the band is trying to convey. Switchfoot, for me, brings new perspective in my life and musters up some strange sort of faith and hope. Their lyrics are my personal bible; I carry them close to heart, and keep them in mind at all times. So here are the few lyrics that bring hope and faith into my Christian lifestyle:





Twenty-Four
“I want to see miracles, see the world change.
Wrestled the angel, for more than a name.
For more than a feeling,
For more than a cause.”


I believe that everyone wants to “see miracles, see the world change”. We recycle, donate money, and help others for this purpose. Helping others “for more than a feeling, for more than a cause” is the true Christian way. In a biblical sense, these lyrics refer to the part in the bible where Jacob wrestles the angel for his faith (Genesis 32:23-34). His heart crying, his hip screaming -Jacob wouldn’t let go of the angel until he had got to see God’s face and received his new name. Throughout the song, it also refers to “the second man”, this explains who he is now, living for god.


Dare You To Move
“I dare you to move.
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor.
I dare you to move.
I dare you to move like today never happened.
Today never happened before.”


There are days that everyone needs a little push, a little lifting up. Many find themselves on the floor and helpless, in this situation I look for God. He is the one that will also be there for a that little push. I often forget that he will always forgive me  of me sins, so I sit on the floor for a while. You can either “lift yourself up off the floor” and “move like today never happened”, or you can stay down there, alongside your sins.


Learning To Breath
“I could use a fresh beginning too.
All of my regrets are nothing new.
So this is the way that I say I need you.”


Fresh beginnings are always remarkable. Being able to restart, and forget everything allows anyone to feel relived of old regrets, bed decisions, and tainted memories. “This is the way that I say I need you” is an easy way of saying: God, I submit to you. I give myself to you. Day in and day out, many try to rely on themselves. We often forget that through life is Christ - all good things come from him and believers should not hesitate to rely on him completely.


Meant To Live
“Maybe we’ve been living with our eyes half open.
Maybe we’re bent and broken, broken.
We were meant to live for so much more.
Have we lost ourselves?”


Ignorant and choosing what we see, “we live with our eyes half open”. In our society today, many dismiss the major problems that are happening everyday like hunger, hate, and war. “We were meant to live for so much more” than stupid, petty things. We have forgotten what is important to existing such as family, love, hope and faith. In doing so, “we [have] lost ourselves”. Allowing the Lord into our lives, many can eliminate hate and find hope.


You
“I find peace when I’m confused,
And I find hope when I’m let down.
Not in me, me.
In you.
It’s in you.”


God is always faithful to us, even when we suffer. Finding ways to get us through, the Lord give us peace when being confused, and hope when being discouraged. Surrendering ourselves to god, we find who we really are. In general, this song is strictly about the lord, and his willingness to help us through finding who we really are.

Is That Going To Be Debit or Credit?

You know it is the holiday season when you hear the bell from the Salvation Army in front of your local grocery store. Most only are able to donate pocket change due to the massive use of plastic now-a-days, but an area branch is trying out something new: credit card donations.

“Average donations jumped to $15 from $2 when donors in Dallas, Los Angeles and Colorado Springs used the electronic payment machines in 2008.” says the Salvation Army. Donations rising $13 is incredible for the community and the organization. It is absolutely amazing that people will donate more if they are offered an electrical payment. From experience, I do not carry much cash on me, therefore I never have extra money to give away.

Not only do these machines not take any personal information away from ones credit or debit card, but one can leave with a receipt just like any other electric transaction. My dad has rang the bell for the Salvation Army before and he has told me, “People do want to give to the organization, they just do not have the spare change.”

The Salvation Army does a huge amount for the community by “giving toys for kids, coats for the homeless, food for the hungry, and fund social service programs.” Donating as much money as a household can handle is incredibly beneficial for the organization. One of my favorite parts of the holidays is giving away money and old things I do not need anymore. Hopefully this method of donating works out well without any problems, and people keep up the donating for the less fortunate!  After all, it is the season of giving.

Click here to read the whole article. 

P.E.T.A- People Eating Tainted Animals

Imagine this: you are a 50 year old man with tremendously high blood pressure and cholesterol. Your heart has been acting up lately, and it has been in severe pain. Heart disease and obesity runs in your family. Last Saturday afternoon, while walking your golden retriever, Libby, you collapse. You're having a heart attack, and you are instantly rushed to the hospital. Luckily, you're brought back to stability. Your breathing and heart beats are a little bleak, but your doctor says that you'll be back in great shape after you get a triple bypass surgery. With getting this surgery you MUST give up all fatty foods (saturated fat, trans. fat), and foods high with cholesterol. Ultimately, you have to give up your meat consumption or you will have to promising chance of yet another heart attack, and this time, you might not be so blessed. Would you give up consuming meat to finish living out an elongated, vigorous life?  

    In the past few decades, slaughterhouses have been thought out to be incredibly inhuman and unsanitary. Chickens in slaughter houses are fed chicken. Not only is this incredibly cruel, but this is disgusting.  Owners and workers of slaughterhouses are nourishing these chickens with their brothers and sisters. You wouldn’t eat your sibling, would you? 

     All we hear now a day is about “going green”. Using the media, newspaper, and the internet; we are pushed to buy these earth friendly products such as hybrid cars, environmentally friendly cleaning supplies, and new found earth friendly light bulbs. By eating meat we are adding more toxic gases into our lovely Earth’s atmosphere. Meat consumers are more harmful to the environment than a car or power plants.  

As most people know, heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States today. Now, we as Americans are going through this health craze. Everything must be diet, low in fat, and reduced in calories, but most do not know that the main cause of being overweight is due to doubling the amount of meat they put into their daily diet?

                Not only are you putting your health on the line, but you are also placing animals in grave danger, and jeopardizing the existence of our plant. Although opponents of this lifestyle may find it pointless, one of the most intellectual men of the New World believes otherwise. Albert Einstein was once quoted saying, “Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet” Vegetarianism is often mocked and associated with the “Hippie” lifestyle, but it posed the question: Would our society still hold these views it had been Einstein pushing for vegetarianism rather than environmentalist? And he felt this way during a time period where it was far more necessary for us to consume meat for everyday health benefits. During the Prehistoric time hunting and eating meat was essential to live, but now we have evolved and have access to resources for nutrition other than the slaughtering of animals. The treatment of animals today is barbaric. If we continue this way of life, then is our society is going to regress into prehistoric ways. What is next—cannibalism?



12 days of Winter Lovin'

1. I get into the water again. Although swimming is a love/hate relationship, I love being around the girls who swim. Swimming brings me closer to the girls that don't run into the same social circle as myself. Plus, what else is suppose to keep me from gaining 50 pounds over the holiday's? Smelling of chorine, drying skin and hair, and pruning fingers are three of the many advantages of living in the water for three months.
2. The winter weather. Cold, brisk, dry winter air is my absolute favorite. Snow falling over the dead grass and bare trees shedding their summer coat, I am filled with happiness and excitement just like a little girl on Christmas.
3. All you can eat. From November to January, it is nearly impossible for you to go hungry. Thanksgiving to Christmas to New Years eve, family recipes are put to their best use. For all the turkeys, chickens, pigs and cow out there, you'll be my prayers. 
4. Thanks for the tease! Everyone knows that November is infamous for the lack of having to attend school. Never attending school can really make a girl forget that it is not summer break; we do not get three months off.
5. Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color? I am crazy for Christmas; I am almost as crazy for Christmas as Will Ferrel. Finding the perfect present, decorating the house for the festivities, and listening to holiday music without being looked at funny, it is nearly impossible for someone to be unhappy during the season of giving. 
6. We go hard-er. What gets better than being able to throw balls at people without getting in trouble? Nothing. Although team Ka-Cha got out before the Milkshakes last year, we are new and improved. Hence the name, We go harder. 
7. It's 5 o'clock and already dark. Unlike most people, I love the dark. Gaining an hour isn't terrible either, although it does throw off my mojo. 
8. Out with the old, in with the new. Right now, a new year sounds like exactly what I need. Being able to leave everything from this year, in this year, could really change my perspective on things. Everyone needs to be able to start over fresh, right?
9. Snow balls on my feet. Two words: Fuzzy Socks. You can sport them now without your feet sweating like a pig! Whether you wear them with mocks, slippers, or all alone; fuzzy socks can bring a little bit of joy into anyone's life.
10. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. When it is 80 degrees outside and May, snow days are your worst enemy; but in the dead of winter, when no one wants to go to school, they're God little pieces of Heaven on Earth.
11. It's the little things that count. Sipping hot coco by the fire while gossiping with your favorite people listening to Christmas music play on 102.5 can make almost anyone cheery and joyful. The holiday season really brings out the little things, making you think about what really matters.
12. Keep your family close. As teenagers, we are programmed to complain about spending time with our family. Little do the adults know: we secretly love it. Being around the people that will love us unconditionally, and look past each of our flaws; family is what we have, no matter what.