Wednesday notes on worship

Worship is not for us yet we need it.

Hebrews 11:1-6
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. ² This is what the ancients were commended for.
³ By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
⁴ By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
⁵ By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”^[a] For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. ⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

We can do good things and sing songs but not be worshiping. We need the intention.


Hebrews 11:7, 8
⁷ By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
⁸ By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

Worship is made up of three main things.
Sacrifice
Pursuit
Obedience







Anyone can be a worship leader any day of their life. You are whether you want to be or not, so how many times have you led people the wrong way?



Hebrews 11:32-38
³² And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. ³⁵ Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. ³⁶ Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were put to death by stoning;^[e] they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— ³⁸ the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.

Does that deter you from worship? We don't worship for us. We do it for Him.


Hebrews 11:39-40
³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, ⁴⁰ since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. 

It's not about what God can do for us.
Faith will lead to worship, while worship will strengthen our faith.

Making my life begin

Hello bloggers,
So lately I've had quite a few thoughts rolling around in my head. Along with the stress of being sick and getting behind in school and not being able to work two of my work shifts, I've been wondering what I'm going to do with my life. So I talked with my mom this morning kind of expressing my frustrations and such and she directed me back to my beloved task of making lists.
Here is a list of general goals.

• Research becoming a Sushi Chef to see if I really want to do it
• Classes
• Where
• How much
• When
• How long
•  How much does being a sushi chef pay?
•  Where would I work?
• What kind of hours does a sushi chef work and would I be able to do that?
• What would I have to give up to be a sushi chef?
• What would I give up to be a sushi chef?
• Apply for every stinking coffee shop and restaurant around here to try to get some kind of response
• Go to bed at midnight and don't touch my computer midnight and after
• Get caught up on schoolwork
• Eat three meals a day (preferably healthy)

These probably seem incredibly basic and pathetic that I have some of these on here but, you know what, this is my life. Get over it. I'm sure trying to...
So a general overview of my goals? Pull my life together so I can do something with it, preferably starting before the internship this summer.

What do you think interwebz?
-Melina Rose

My Day Today

This morning I wanted to just get in my truck and keep driving until I wasn't anymore. I felt like I didn't have anything to bring into life. I was discouraged and stressed about my quarter inch thick stack of Japanese homework and the final that I may or may not be taking tonight.
But I wanted to do my duty to the world. I wanted to appear okay. I wanted to keep my mom from crying because I told her she hurt my feelings. I didn't want anything to be my fault, yet I wanted to take care of what I knew was.
So I went to school. I chatted with my friends. I took my Japanese test and got into my truck again. I started driving home but decided to once again stop at the oriental market that I pass everyday that way. I didn't buy my usual banana milk. I didn't even by a coffee drink. I wanted something refreshing, something that would renew any energy I had left. The cool, simple liquid was refreshing and I felt just a tiny bit better.
But I didn't want to go home yet. I knew I needed something to get my head together. My thoughts were entirely too jumbled to accomplish anything quite yet. I found myself in my church parking lot. Maybe I would go for a walk. No, I needed to work on that pile of homework.
"Hey is it okay if I hang out in the sanctuary and just work on homework for a bit?" Our receptionist looked a little confused. "Sure but we leave at four."
I told her not to worry I would make sure to not be there that long and quietly went in. It was almost silent with no distractions. Only the small clinking noises and the sound of quiet movement could be heard from the lady cleaning up from a brunch or something that had taken place earlier.
I got three pages of homework done, consumed two chocolate cake-pops thanks to the lady and organized my entire Japanese folder. My spirits were a little higher.
I began driving home a little after three thirty pm. I still didn't really want to go home but I knew that I still had stuff to do.
But I saw a kid from our youthgroup walking along the side of the road. I knew it was kind of cold out. I knew he wasn't a jerk and I knew he doesn't drive. So I made a quick U-turn and pulled into a side street as he was about to cross. "Do you need a ride?"
"Yeah, that would be great."
So I drove him the opposite way I was going, to his house. He was pretty happy and I managed to keep the conversation going for once. It's not like he had a problem with that either though. He went inside and I headed home.
And it was then that I realized. I felt refreshed. No, it wasn't a magical "Oh, I'm so happy now and I can all these things lalalalala." I just knew somehow that I was stronger and I had been hanging out with my bestie all day long.
So thanks God for hanging out with me. I know you'll never leave me but I kinda feel like I lock myself away from you sometimes without even meaning to.
So, again tomorrow?

-MelinaRose

Hello Wednesday

Morning :)
I woke up about the time I was supposed to today but took a bit longer to get ready than planned. Therefore, I have no substantial food substances with me. I have Chex-mix and an apple. I bought some very over-priced coffee from our school java stop and it was delicious. I needed coffee this morning. I woke up disgruntled and annoyed and had no time to make it at home. It tends to improve my mood. You see, I was dumb again and stayed up till a little after two in the morning.
I made it to my class early (thus the time to buy coffee) despite leaving late. Traffic....when will you make up your mind? The first group of people gave their speeches and I didn't have any problems paying attention. You see, our next speech is a poetry/lyric speech where we read a poem or lyrics from a song and then explain why we chose it and what it means to us.
I don't like country music to often but I enjoyed the lyrics to Rascal Flatts song "Stand" quite a bit.

You feel like a candle in a hurricane
Just like a picture with a broken frame
Alone and helpless
Like you've lost your fight
But you'll be alright, you'll be alright

[Chorus:]
Cause when push comes to shove
You taste what you're made of
You might bend, till you break
Cause its all you can take
On your knees you look up
Decide you've had enough
You get mad you get strong
Wipe your hands shake it off
Then you Stand, Then you stand
Life's like a novel
With the end ripped out
The edge of a canyon
With only one way down
Take what you're given before its gone
Start holding on, keep holding on

Cause when push comes to shove
You taste what you're made of
You might bend till you break
Cause it's all you can take
On your knees you look up
Decide you've had enough
You get mad, you get strong
Wipe your hands, shake it off
Then you stand, then you stand

Everytime you get up
And get back in the race
One more small piece of you
Starts to fall into place
Oh

Another classmate did her speech on How it Feels to Fly by Alica Keys. One speech I really enjoyed was on Psalm 23. I admired that the guy wasn't afraid to read from the Bible to our entire class and then explain about it. It's too bad I'm fairly shy about talking to the people in my class. I would like to get to know a few... My friend Persia is from that class but she had to work today. I showed her my poem that I plan to present and she really encouraged me to do it. I'm really nervous to share in front of people in the first place, let alone about a poem I wrote, but I think I'm going to do it. I'm going to push myself out of my comfort zone.
This is the poem I'm going to do:


Sailing 'Till Sunrise
By me :)

No matter what is changing
When I'm anything but sure
As long as I keep moving
It will pass me by

As I wave goodbye
To the scenery ever changing
I feel a small glimmer
Of hope within me rise

And within my eyes
As skies light grows dimmer
I see a mournful ship
Sailing 'till sunrise

Our ever thinking minds
Into mine I dip
I search for the answer
All seem like taunting lies

Will I ever find
A way to kill this cancer
That lies within my heart
Wreaking havoc inside

"In me confide."
A voice whispers int he dark
My heart soars
But then I fear and hide

"Please come to my side."
There are steps int he corridor
They echo inside me
Making me cry

So gentle and kind
Yet I don't want to see
That if I just let go
Things will get better in time

{End}

Yeah, so that's my poem. It's very personal but I'm going to share it with my class. I think I'll probably just write some thoughts down to go with it so I don't blank out completely from being so nervous. Wish me luck?

Anyway, later today, after Japanese is done, I'm going to go to youthgroup! What's the big deal, you go every week? Yes, I know, but this week is preparation for a giant event our church puts on! Our whole youth group is getting together to pack bags of food for people who need it. They will be distributed on Saturday with other things like clothes, toys, furniture, etc. It is a lot of fun and goes all day.
A friend from school here is coming, as well as Mnonaa and Bree. It should be fun but I'm a tiny bit nervous since my school friend is coming.

I'm going to work on my speech now interwebz,
-Melina Rose

Echos in my mind

Saturday

I woke up at a decent hour and set upon the task of cleaning my room. I ate breakfast first and then got down to it. I didn't finish but I did make good progress. Daddy was washing the cobwebs out of our entryway outside and so I ran outside to get him since we had planned to watch a movie together before I headed off to work. We weren't able to finish it but I found out yesterday (Sunday) that he bought it. I guess I will get to see the end! I went to work and, while it was slow, it was a fairly good shift. After work I ran home and threw my Japanese homework in my backpack along with a change of clothes and drove to the college that I want to go to. My bff/sissy St. goes there! I hadn't seen her in around 6 months!!! It was a much needed reunion. :) We stayed up until 4am catching up on what's been going on with life and then we went to bed.


Sunday

We were up at 7:45am to go with two of her friends to a church near by.
The sermon was on healing and both St. and I found it very interesting. It made for good conversation later.
When we got back to campus, we both went to the "best meal of the week", Sunday brunch. I'm pretty sure I ate more than I had in the two days before it put together! I was so full. St. had to work after that so we went back to her dorm and I took a two hour nap until she got back.
She took me on a tour of a gorgeous old building there and I attempted to play her the song I've been working on on the piano. I only have parts of it memorized though so, after a bit, I reverted to the few worship songs I know the chords too. She showed me the rest of the building and it was a really great time.
We ran outside to hear someone playing trumpet and both tried to keep down our giggles as we stood underneath the window it was escaping from. It was very pretty. We then skipped back to her dorm and started dinner. While it was cooking, we worked on our homework. I got one page of Japanese homework done and that was it. We had rice and Buffalo chicken for dinner. The dried/candied pineapple she had was an amazing dessert.
After finishing eating, we decided to go on another adventure since it was dark out. I found that I had indeed brought my book of piano music with me and so we went back to the building with the grand piano and I played it for her three times. We decided to record it the fourth time but my arms were already tired from playing it the first three times (it's 14 pages long) and I was nervous since I knew I was taping myself. I ended up making a lot of mistakes... :( Hopefully someday I will play it well without mistakes.
I had to head home after that but as we once again ran out of that building we heard someone playing piano. It was coming from a window fairly close to the one that had been releasing the trumpet before and we stood under it. When they came to a stopping point we clapped and then ran off giggling again.
We were both sad to say goodbye but I plan to make it a point to see her more often this semester. She is a very dear friend and I need to see her more. <3
When I got home, my parents were watching a movie. I ran upstairs and showered while they were still awake. (My shower is right next to their room and so it wakes them up.) They were both upstairs when I got out so I said goodnight to my daddy and then was pulled into conversation with my momma. :) It was a good conversation. She told me to go to bed when I was practically nodding off in the middle of it though. I showed her a few good songs that I feel relate to me right now and then climbed in bed. I set my alarm on my phone and realized that it was just a few more minutes to midnight and Lysa's birthday. I posted on her wall at midnight (woop I got first post. I win.) and then went to sleep.

Monday (today)
I woke up at 6:40 instead of 6 like my alarm was supposed to tell me to. I slid out of bed in a rushed, but not in the least willing way. Got dressed. Throwing my stuff into my bag, I ran downstairs and hopped in the truck to drive to school.
My 8am class was a blur. Like....a fuzzy blur. I was having a really hard time staying awake. For my hour break I came up here and sat on facebook until it was time for Chemistry. Chemistry was terrifying and not in a happy way. Math + Struggling to stay awake = desire to drop the class. I need to call the college I want to go to and talk with them about that. (I already took a lab science but they didn't accept it)
I am now on my two hour break before Japanese, still struggling to stay awake. I'm not awake enough to accomplish homework and there is no place to take a nap so.... I just have to grin and bear it while trying to keep myself awake without caffeine. You see, since I woke up late, I have no food or drink. I refuse to spend a riridiculous amount for something that won't make that much difference. I'll eat when I get home.
I've had....a luna bar. *shrugs* It's something.

I'm currently using loud music and blogging to keep myself awake. I still have the loud music but now I no longer have blogging because this post has come to an end.

Best of luck in the world on non-sleepers interwebz

-Melina Rose

When in the course of human events it becomes necessary...

Independence day is coming up soon and after church tonight, it has me thinking about fighting for what we believe in.

When we see something not right do we fight against it? Do we stand up for what we believe in? Do we try to encourage the ones who are struggling?

This world has many things wrong in it and younger people today don't even realize it. They have it taught to them at a young age what our culture expects from them and what is "normal".
I have been reading on this site where people write anonymous letters to their crushes and some are really heartbreaking. Some are beautiful. Some are twisted.
There was one entry that really caught my eye though and I'm going to put it here.

I feel like the whole world is pressuring me into having my first relationship and falling in love and having sex and yet I am not interested in anyone and no one is interested in me so here I sit feeling dull and inadequate all because love and sex is all anyone can talk about and I'm sick of it because I can't empathize with any of it and no one can empathize with me.

I have always found it rather obvious that our culture focuses on this. I mean, you turn on the tv and it isn't even the shows you have to watch out for. The commercials are filled with it. Those subtle voices screaming at you, "Buy this and be beautiful." "If you look this way people will love you." "You need this product for people to accept you." The message off so many of these commercials are "If no one is coming on to you then you are worthless."
It really breaks my heart to see girls just 15 years old saying things like "I've never kissed anyone. Something must be wrong with me." NO!
You are beautiful! You are precious! You are favored by the King and someone will always love you.

Don't let this world tell you differently.

With love to all of you beautiful people out there (YES! YOU!)

-Melina Rose

and in other news I have 2,000 pageviews! Thanks!

I am back home as of yesterday :)

I landed around 4pm and my daddy picked me up :) We went home and he made his version of a chocolate cooler. (pretty much an iced mocha) It was very good. I had gotten up a little after 7am to bring Sephre to nannying and after eating breakfast there, went back to the house to pack and then go to her boyfriend's house. He drove me to the airport (Thanks!) and then I sat there for two hours until it departed. I ate some fancy trail mix and some cheese curds for lunch and then got on the plane. I arrived around an hour later and got my luggage; waited for him to come pick me up. I left for youth group around five or so and was very happy. I walked in to them singing I Will Run  and just felt the joy wash over me. I missed my youth group very much. After they were done with their practice I immediately ran over and glomped Bree. Maybe a little violently but I couldn't contain my happiness. :P We ran outside and swung on the swings for a while before setting up the food table for dinner. We had hot dogs, chips, and strawberry pie. Not healthy at all but very good since I was very hungry.
After dinner everyone went down into the amphitheater for their small group time and Bree and I cleaned up dinner. I didn't miss out on much since I'm going to be back in Wisconsin when each group is doing their stuff. I had fun cleaning up with Bree. I wiped down all the tables and the grill a little and she brought most of the stuff down. Then we washed the two giant coolers for the drinks and I managed to get us a little wet with the sprayer :P
We went upstairs for the word and then she went onstage for worship. Worship was absolutely amazing and I haven't felt it that strongly in a while. It was a great night. After, Christal and I went to Perkins with a bunch of other people from youth group. I went to Bob's house after dropping Christal at her home and hung out for  a bit. She slept over and we stayed up till two in the morning watching The Social Network. We didn't finish it all.
Sleep: A little less than 5 hours

Bob woke me up around 9. I am not sure why still. Dear, I needed that sleep! She was intent on getting me up though so we did. Mom made us scrambled eggs and we each got a strawberry. After finishing our movie, I brought her home (almost falling asleep on the way back) and crashed on the couch. Mom found me their and I went upstairs to take a nap. I got up at one I think not feeling any more rested than before. We ate some Kashi cereal and then went to Kohls, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Savers. I got another pair of pants for work at Savers. I thought it was funny that the only pair that fit the I tried on were Express ones and I had just been talking about that store the other day. (Yesterday?)
Anyway... We went home and I got ready for the wedding rehearsal. I realized that yes, I had packed more than one dress (thankfully) and ended up wearing a new (to me) black dress with a belt and my converse. My only color was my zipper earrings which I love. :P
I showed up to the place for the wedding and we ran through it a few times. It is going to be outside and it was super windy! I did a lot better at the song than I thought I was going to and I feel better about it now.
We then headed to the rehearsal dinner. The bride's friend and I got lost and were fifteen minutes late but it was all good. I had never been to Casper's before but from what I had they have good food. I had the Minnesota chicken as well as their house salad (which is AMAZING *cough* maybe I was just really hungry) and then strawberry shortcake.
I got home and sat down on the couch. My phone has been on low battery for a while but I'll charge it tonight. I had no energy to make an extra trip up the stairs. (Don't judge me :P ) My parents were watching an old movie. Something like love affair or something. I don't know. I sat on the couch working on this post while we watched it.
Now I'm chatting with Lysa, Tall kid, Sephre, Bob and earlier I was with St. but she got off. I really need to go to bed now that I've finished this post.
I have a headache and am already half asleep....
Sleep: A little less than 7 hours?

Oyasuminasai interwebz

-Melina Rose

Missing Minnesota...

I have no motivation to fill you in on what I did today really. 

I went for a walk today. I like taking walks; walks when it is sunny, windy, rainy, cold, snowy, mild. I like walks. They let me escape for a while. I don't have to talk to anyone or answer questions or tell people what I'm up to if I don't want to. I can just plug in my music and go.

Relevant lyric of the moment:

‎'Cause most things true

 
Are simple and complex 

 
So it is with You 

 
What else should I expect
 
-Caedmon's Call (Beautiful Mystery)

I guess the rest of the post is going to be in small type...cause it won't format....grr. It would...... *sigh* [Sorry]

Continuing onwards... 
I miss my Minnesotans very very much. I admit it. I was tearing up earlier. You see, today is Wednesday, and while I didn't realize it until this evening, it is important. Why is it important? It is important because I normally have youth group on Wednesday nights. I love the people there very much and it is killing me quietly to not be there right now. Don't get me wrong, I'm still having a great time here but being alone at the very moment when I am normally surrounded by people who make me happy?....It's difficult to be happy.
I'm not trying to mope. Honestly I'm not. I just miss people. Is that a crime?
On the other hand, I'm gone for two months! I'll be back! I can't move back as soon as I leave! I miss you too okay? 
.....Quite a bit.

Did you know that a human being is supposed to have 3 hugs a day to survive? ......How am I alive? I feel I may have been forcing hugs on you Sephre :/ Sorry :) Let me know if you don't want them okay? 

I forgot to post this while I was still saddish interwebz
I'm betterish now :)


-Melina Rose

The lightening was blinding

I woke up at 9:40am and started getting ready for church. It was almost 90 degrees outside today so I wore my new sundress! I love that dress. It was super windy as well and Sephre and I commented on being slapped in the face by our hair. lol We got to church while they were singing. I didn't know most of the songs but I didn't expect it to be like my church back home so it was okay. I miss my church though. The sermon was really good. It was about how God uses our weaknesses to show His power. Since we have a lot of weaknesses it's all the more opportunity for Him! :P
After church, Sephre and I went  back to the house and made Seshuan (spelling?) beef and rice. It was really good! After that we went to get coffee and brought our drinks to a park. It was really really windy so it was actually hard to walk around the lake/pond! After that we drove around for a bit looking at different abandoned houses.
Sephre had to be at work at 4pm so we went back to her house and her boyfriend picked us up and drove her to work. After we dropped her off, he drove us to Milwaukee while showing me different music from bands like Protest the Hero and Breaking Benjamin. We walked around the mall for a while once we got there. We found some funny books and commented on various dumb ads. Then he took me to Stir Crazy which is this really good Japanese restaurant! I had never been there before! We went back to Sephre's house (currently mine too) and realized that we would have to pick her up from work since we brought her there. We decided to hang out at his house but found out the power was down. There was power at Sephre's house so he grabbed his PS3 and some games and headed back over to Sephre's house. He set up the Wii for me and realized he forgot the cables he needed for the PS3. We watched an episode of an anime and watched fail/owned videos on YouTube until it was time to pick up Sephre.
It was raining really hard and the lightening was so bright that it gave us headaches after blinding us! We got to Caribou and gave one of her co-workers a ride to her car so she wouldn't get soaked. Sephre brought us drinks! I got a milk chocolate hot chocolate! We drove back to the house and Saul (Sephre's boyfriend) packed up his stuff and went home. After cleaning up the kitchen a bit I went upstairs and climbed into bed. I fell asleep almost as soon as I stopped texting people.

I didn't feel so great interwebz...

-Melina Rose
For the corresponding post on my other blog: Click me!

Almost Packed

I woke up around ten this morning and checked my phone for any messages. I had a message from Sephre and from Bree. I texted Bree for a bit and also chatted with Sephre. After that I took a shower, got dressed, did makeup, the usual. The bane of my existence decided to grace me with its presence today. Go away. *pouts* Anyway, I drank one of my parents protein drinks and got down to the packing. Pretty much I now have everything packed except for toiletries, accessories, and a few electronics I will use before tomorrow morning. Currently totaling 3 large purple bins, 1 storage cube, 1 folding butterfly chair, 1 bagged stack of clothes and a partially packed suitcase.
That is a ton of stuff and that isn't even all of it! Geez...
I leave now to pick up Mnonaa and then pick up Bob. Then we head to Bree's house to meet up to go to youth group and then meet up with other people after. Not sure how I'm going to be home by ten to finish prepping but I'll manage somehow...

Off I go interwebz :)

-Melina Rose

pEAches

Today was great.
I woke up and I really don't remember what I did right away. I know I ate some food with my mom while watching an episode of What Not to Wear. We call it what you should not wear :P After that I took a mini-shower and got ready for the day. I believe I called Bob (who is back in town!) and she said she was at Aldi so I went and met her there since I needed to go there in the first place for road-trip snackfoodz. I got Yogurt covered raisins, Trail mix, Strawberry fruit roll ups, Cherry fruit roll ups, Two juice drinks, and a Pineapple. I went back home and unloaded the things and then ran to the bank and withdrew money to pay my teacher for printing my portfolio. $64 seems expensive to me.... Bob's house was on the way back so I stopped in to see if I could kidnap her. We watched a little bit of Make it or Break It and then one of her younger sister's friends came over and we talked for a bit. I had stuff to do so I said I needed to get going and left (without Bob :/ )
I headed home and quick stuffed the cash in an envelope to bring to school. After leaving the money by my teacher's computer in her office and telling her that it was there, I headed to Target to double check some pricing on the clothes I bought yesterday. (Someone said they might be cheaper today.) The shorts hadn't gone on sale but the top was cheaper. Unfortunately they didn't have my size so I didn't get it cheaper. I put that stuff back in the truck and then went in and bought mascara and hangers. Green hangers :D I headed home after that and ate something (though I don't remember what.) I managed to pack up my books I'm bringing to WI and I found some almost brand new blank notebooks! Colorful ones!
It was time to leave so I went and picked up Bree and headed to church for my last worship practice until August. It's small group night tomorrow so no actual music. We just worked on songs that are new to us. It went well. :) Afterwords we went downstairs to find the red ball we (Bree,Tallkid, and Aimee) played with the week before. We found a chalk wall and found a purple basketball as well as two others. Aimee said that the blue one was her child and we had fun throwing them at each other. There was a Bible study a few rooms away that we didn't want to disturb so we went to the big room and looked around. We found Hungry Hippos and I was convinced to play one game. After that we went outside because we were still being loud. We played with a few little kids and I "raced" a little boy.
Bree needed coffee for some energy so we all piled into Tallkid's car and drove to Caribou. I got a caramel cooler. Bree got a chocolate one and Aimee got some kind of iced coffee. We drove over to Target after getting coffee because Bree, Aimee and I needed to get some things for small group tomorrow. It was a blast :D I'm pretty sure that we would have been kicked out if we didn't have a cart full of stuff that we were going to buy. Nothing terrible but we were just being loud and hyper. (This is what coffee and sugar do to you.) We bought the stuff and headed to my favorite field to hang out and be as loud as we wanted. We were all pretty hyper except for Tallkid so there was much laughter involved. He was eating dried peaches so for some reason we just started saying peaches to any question we would ask. Twas fun and funny :D Bree and Aimee had to go home so we bid Aimee fairwell since she lived close to the field and just walked home. We drove to Bree's house and petted the kitties for a while and then Tallkid drove me back to church where my truck had been left. He gave me a surprise present! A cool CD with symphony/piano/screamo music and eventually the book of piano sheet music! :D
I've had a really fun night and am super tired but I have to keep packing. Another bin needs to be filled today!

Until later interwebz! PEACHES

-Melina Rose

The Green Malt Machine

Saturday was my last day of work in MN and Tortuga and I hung out after. We got some Taco Bell and then went to her house where I talked to Tallkid on the comp for a bit and we watched Criminal minds and CSI. I went home around 3am. (Tortuga lives a few blocks from me)


Today (Sunday) I was up around 9 something. I wanted to wear my cookie monster shirt so I paired it with my black pencil skirt and heels. I grabbed a cup of coffee and headed off to church with my Daddy. Since I am leaving here so soon, I sat with Bree and Christal. Someone from the college I eventually want to go to actually was the one who gave the word/sermon today! It was good. I have notes if ya want them :P
After church, my parents took me out to eat at Red Lobster to celebrate me getting my associates degree. I'm actually the first person in my immediate family to get a degree! The biscuits were fresh and absolutely amazingly delicious. I got shrimp scampi, salmon, and snow crab legs too! Mmmm. So good. :D
After lunch we went back home. Mom sang this morning at church so we had to drop her off at church to get the car she drove. Dad blasted music on the way back with the windows down and it made me smile. I will miss my parents a lot.
I was completely wiped out so when we got home I just went upstairs and climbed into bed. I didn't sleep but I didn't do anything that required me to think or move really which was nice. I watched My Princess which is a (good so far) Korean drama that I started a while ago. After a while, my momma came into my room and asked me if I wanted to go for a walk. It was pretty windy outside but sunny so overall I think it was nice.
It was a really nice walk. We got to talk about stuff that we used to before I was constantly rushing around and stressed; what we are thinking about a lot, boys, life, lots of stuff like that. I can't say how nice that walk was. I don't think I was smiling very much but sometimes you don't need to smile for something to be good.
After we got back, I got ready to go to a friends house. My small group from church was meeting to have a delectable encounter with the green monster aka an awesome old-school malt machine. It was great and I was glad that I could see some people before I leave. I left the party around 9pm since I was zoning out and no one was really talking to me and I just was tired. I said goodbye and went home. My parents were watching a movie on tv and invited me to join them but it was already part-way into it and I didn't really feel like it.
After a bit, my mom came up and asked if I wanted to watch a dvd. I said of course and we selected Ever After with Drew Barrymore in it. The movie finished around 12am and so I drank a couple glasses of water and brought some apples and honey upstairs with me to my room. Hopped on the computer and talked to Tallkid a bit as well as Sephre. I'm excited to see her! We planned out birthday stuff and talked about pandas and tablets and gothic lolita fashion that we both desperately want to buy. She went to bed around 1am and I guess I have been writing this post since then.
I plan to pack, clean, and hang out with a few friends later today (Monday)

Night night interwebz

-Melina Rose

Cupcakes.

Today I was woken up and told I had 45 minutes to get ready for church. I showered and got ready and didn't have enough time to eat breakfast which left me grumpy. We got to church and I sat with Bree and Christal. The sermon was really good.
After church we went home and I fell into a state of half asleepedness on the couch while Dad made two dozen dark chocolate cupcakes. They smelled heavenly. We got them into the car and headed back to church for the 25th anniversary/birthday party thing. There were many many cupcakes; Red Velvet, Peanut butter, even Pineapple Upsidown cake ones! I ate one and hung out with people. There was a presentation and after mingling some more a group of friends and I went to the Jr. High room and played hangman until my dad texted me wondering where I was. I grabbed the leftover cupcakes on his direction and we headed back home.
I ate another dark chocolate cupcake there and then sat down while Dad and I decided what movie to watch. We watched special features until my mom got home from work and then we watched Shall We Dance. I ate smushed eggs.
I am now worrying myself dizzy over how I am going to get everything done tomorrow. I have to go to my 8am class, stay to get massive amounts of homework done (even though I don't have any food to bring with me really), fill out the fafsfa go to the phone store to get my phone fixed, and then go to Glitter and Crumbs. I rather not die.......... *sigh*

Yeah, so that is my life right now interwebz
Oh, and I am still sick. Save me?

 -Melina Rose

For Ashley :) (My devotions today)

Hey Ahsley! I read that you are giving a word for your church. I did this not to long ago (nothing big) but I thought maybe, if you were having any fears about it this could help. :)

Exodus 4:10-13 (NLT)
 But Moses pleaded with the Lord, "O Lord, I'm not very good with words. I never have been, and I'm not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled."
 Then the Lord asked Moses, "Who makes a person's mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord?
  Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say."
 But Moses again pleaded, "Lord, please! Send anyone else."

Isn't it amazing that Moses, the man who ended up leading a huge amount of people through all sorts of trials, was afraid of speaking (even if it was to someone important). It is good to remember that God is in control :)

So it's kind of been a long time - Welcome to February

Sorry it has been such a long time since I posted. It isn't that I haven't been writing; actually quite the opposite. I joined a site called storywrite and have been putting my stuff up there. That, plus school, work, and various other activities have kept me very busy. I led three songs out of five this morning for worship. That was our Sunday service not Wednesday. It went well even though I woke up as a frog. Hot, mint tea with honey helped. I had worked the night before and I started feeling really sick towards the end. I drove straight to Bree's house after work and we went to bed late even though it was soon after I got there.  The night before I had stayed up until 4:30am talking on the computer. It was worth it but boy, I am still exhausted.
I went to a Superbowl party tonight. It was good even though i was the only one who showed up. I felt really bad. There was a lot of food and it was just me and my hosts. It was fun but I felt bad. They sent me home with lime chips, salsa and those little miniature hot dogs drenched in BBQ sauce.
I got home and somewhat watched the episode of Glee that my parents were watching. I was on my laptop working on a story. I am going to be in be by 1am tonight at least though so I'm going to get ready for bed and then work on it until it is time to sleep.
I have a major homework day tomorrow. I need to catch up on some things and just plain do others.

Oyasumi interwebz


-Melina Rose

This is not about a party.

I didn't mean to lie....lol

Yesterday
I had school. I came home telling myself I needed to get a lot done and got nothing done. I went and picked up Mnonaa and we went to youth group. Our youth pastor is sick with the stomach flu and so there was no worship practice on Tuesday. We parked in the parking lot and before going in exchanged our much delayed Christmas presents. I now own a Korean language book! Yay! We went inside and i sat down at the piano and played some songs while singing. A few other people joined in before we all went to eat the mashed potato bar. After dinner we all listened to Lysas dad talk about the missions trip to Arizona. Mnonaa seemed like she wanted to go. I wish I had enough money to do something like that again. It is no longer safe to go to Mexico on missions trips. I hope that the friends that I had made while there are doing well.
After church we went back to my house and made some green tea with honey in it. I don't have a real thermos so we just put it in my metal water bottle and put that in a clean sock. Clean. The bottle was to hot to hold otherwise. I grabbed the short version of my story off of the computer and we headed to her house. She grabbed her small tea cups and I poured the tea into them. We have no self control when it comes to drinking tea slowly and it was gone in a matter of minutes. I noticed that it was very close to 11 and told Mnonaa that I had to leave soon. We sat down on the couch and she read my shortened version of the story that I am itching to work on.  After she finished reading it I gave her the link to this blog. *waves to her* hiiiiii. lol I got home after 11 and so I get no kpop today. Sad face. Lysa and I made an agreement that to motivate ourselves to get to bed at a decent hour (11) the consequence if we didn't make it would be no kpop the next day. Bummer for me.

I get to work on the story again starting tomorrow interwebz. I can't wait.

-Melina Rose

I am slowly becoming more encouraged...is this...excitement I am starting to feel?

This is my youth pastors reply to the note I previously posted that I sent to him.

Nice quote, awesome lady. First of all, in my experience, that reaction is usually the best sign of someone who is ready for leadership. That may seem confusing but it's true. In the Kingdom of God we don't look for leaders who are anxious but rather those who are commitment have a heart for that ministry and understand the responsibilities they would undertake. So... your response actually confirms my pick. That being said, I don't plan on throwing you under the bus. I will train you and teach you so that by the time you lead solo the only question you'll have is, "How is the Spirit moving this week?" I love your honesty and if you remain terrified after we train than we won't go any farther, but trust in your Pastor and let's find out shall we?

....................................................................................................... 

I shall continue to pray about this but I am feeling encouraged even though I am still very ..... nervous? I can't seem to find the right word. Hmm. Anyway, I am interested to see what God is going to do with this.

Current Facebook status:
You have listened to fears, Child,” said Aslan. “Come, let me breathe on you. Forget them. Are you brave again?

Current email status:
Some journeys take us far from home. Some adventures lead us to our destiny. -The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe

I love the Chronicles of Narnia interwebz. Do you?

-Melina Rose

Piano is Guitar now say wa?

Dear awesome youth pastor,
I'm sorry for my reaction tonight. When you told me you are going to start easing me into being a worship leader it absolutely terrified me. I know it is a huge responsibility. You have to be a good role model because people are going to be watching you and counting on you. I can see all my faults and I don't feel like I am ready for that kind of responsibility. I don't know if God wants to challenge me in this area and push me in this direction but my initial reaction was pure stress and terror. I don't know anything about putting together sets, or what keys fit people or any of that technical stuff. I am terrified of being a leader in almost any setting but I do try sometimes.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I really have to pray about it and are you sure that I would even be able to do it?

"Caspian: But I'm not ready!
Aslan: And that's exactly how i know you are."
— Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
(it makes me think)

-Melina Rose

星

Note: This post was started quite a while ago and I forgot about it. I just finished it today.
Yesterday was a good day.
I went to church and sat with Lysa (who is also back from college for Christmas break).
The sermon was very good and kept me interested. It was about Esther and the similarities between her saving her people and Jesus saving us.  Like I said before it was very interesting. You should read the book of Esther (don't worry it isn't super long) and try to find all the similarities you can.
After  church I went with Lysas family to her house and then Lysa and I took the car and went to the Korean restaurant close by.  Neither of us had had Korean food before and since we are both very interested in the culture we really wanted to try it.  It. Was. Amazing. *dies*  There was a lot of food but even though we were really full it wasn't the painful feeling of being full.  I think that it must have been a bit healthier food to be able to not hurt even though you are stuffed.  Lysa and I both got Bulgogi. The only difference is that she got chicken Bulgogi.  So good.

After that we went to her house and picked up her brother to drop him off at their church for his play practice.  Lysa dropped me off at my house and went back to hers for their family Bible study.
I watched Despicable me with my parents and it was soooo cuuuute!! Such a good movie.  I want it. lol Anyone want to give me a minion too?

Minionnnnnnn. <3
(These pictures were taken off of the interwebz by the way. I just googled them that's all.)
   After the movie I went to Lysas house and we drove to the mall. It was really fun listening to songs like Love Ya by SS501. (Yes I am now off of my self inflicted K-pop ban ^^.) We got to the mall and parked on one of the upper levels.
We went inside and headed to a few different stores including Dairy Queen for a cookie dough Blizzard for Lysa, The Tea Garden for Bubble tea for me.
Since I am picking up this post quite a bit later. (I forgot it was in my drafts) I do not remember what happened after this. I know I had a lot of fun though. lol fail at remembering to finish this post that day.

Will you be my minion interwebz?

-Melina Rose

No Net at the Port

 I am sitting here in the airport without internet. How will I post this you ask? Well, I will just type it up before and then copy and paste it later.  Today is the day after Christmas. We went to church this morning and worship was super good.  I was supposed to sing but we were supposed to be flying out to CA this morning instead of afternoon. All flights are oversold so it is difficult since we fly non-rev.  I almost fell asleep in the sermon even though it was a good one. I am so tired.

We came home and ate left over Christmas food and then decided to try for a flight today.  We didn’t want to try one flight and then have to try to go to a different city and have our bags sent to the first city so we are only taking carry-ons. It is rather difficult to pack everything you need for three days into one backpack. That is everything and not just clothes and such.  I packed about 4 books, one composition book, various stocking stuffer candy, laptop, camera, ipod, phone. Stuff like that. I wore three jackets, hoodies and the thought crossed my mind that I wish I could wear more than one pair of shoes. Yes, I am wearing some of my clothes to transport them. 

We got to the airport after 3pm and sat down to wait for our first attempt at getting seats to San Francisco.  We got a bit of food while we waited. I had a plain bagel and cream cheese and my parents had burgers and frys. It’s not like I’m a health nut or anything but fried food just doesn’t sound good to me right before flying.

Attempt #1 failed

We found out the location of our next flight and started heading to the concourse. We got some Caribou on the way. Mom got a sugar-free, decaff, caramel latte. Dad got a mocha and I got a caramel cooler. I had fun listening to my kpop and mouthing the words as we walked. I’m sure I looked really strange but who cares. Lol I was having fun.

We arrived at the gate and they had little posts where you can plug in your electronics! While yes, this does not provide me with internet it means I can use my computer without using up the very short battery life.  Yay!

I had been working on writing more of my story at the last gate and so I sat down and typed up what I have so far. Spell checked it and formatted it how I wanted in word. Word isn’t very good for formatting compared to InDesign but it will have to do. I made the page half of a eight and a half by eleven page because that is how I imagine a page in a book. Lol At that size with the font being 10pts I have nine pages! Yay! 

I am also listening to music on my computer since I didn’t bring a charger for my ipod and my computer isn’t losing battery. I am missing a lot of music from before when we had to reformat it but it is still very nice to have. 

I am getting very bored so I took some pictures featuring various airport views and my domo from Taco Bell. I broke out the peach rings, and shortly after started on this post.  Lucky you, you get a few excessively long blog posts. I have nothing else to do!

            There are little kids laughing and it makes me smile. One looks like my cousin who is where we are going to visit. I am so excited to see them and my other family that is there.

Me thinks I am going to end this post and work on one telling you about my Christmas interwebz.

-Melina Rose