Your Dream Man

Hmmmm.... which do I prefer....

Blondes [ ] or Brunettes [x]

Left Brained [x] or Right Brained [ ]



Oh! Hey there! Um...Hi!

I was just thinking of the kinda guys I generally prefer. Nothing out of the ordinary or anything.... Heheh.

                  For those of you women who aren't already married, do you have a list written up of all the characteristics that your dream man has? I remember reading an article in this Christian teen magazine encouraging girls to make a strict list of wonderful characteristics that their man should have. That way they can follow that list as a guide and only choose good men.  A typical teen girl might write:

       1. He must be totally hot (no ugly guys for me)

       2. He should be athletic

       3. Totally masculine. And tall. Well, taller than me. But not too tall. Duh.

       4. Ripped and rich

       5. Look like Taylor Lautner

Yes, I have seen people put down #5 all the time. Really. Or something along those lines..... However, a typical Christian girl might put down:

       1. He needs to be a Christian (this is the most important step!!! That's why it's on top!!!)

       2. He needs to be totally hot (no ugly guys for me)

       3. He must to be a good father

       4.  He should be supportive and loving
     
       5.  He has to be able to listen to me talk about things that I am interested in and at least act like he's interested, too


Yes, I have seen people put down #5 all the time. Really.


A good Christian girl (yes, a GOOD Christian.... not all Christians are necessarily "good") might put down:

       1. My dream guy needs to be a GOOD solid Christian, not one of them phonies

       2. I want him to be a good father for all the kids we will be having (when we're married. Duh.)

       3. I want him to know that divorce is never gonna be an option

       4. He needs to be loving, caring, compassionate, merciful, generous, forgiving, kind, strong, protecting, supporting, joyful, and finally faithful to me but even more faithful to God.

       5. And he needs to have a good amount of money. Just sayin'. Hey! If we have a big family I don't want to have financial problems!

Yes, I have seen people put down #5 all the time. Really.


                  Notice how the Christian lists were a little less focused on outward characteristics and more on inward characteristics? That is indeed important. I made a list one time during high school. I wasn't necessarily interested in dating at the time, but I wrote one up anyway just cuz it felt like a good idea. I figured one day it would come in handy for when I did want to start dating. And now I don't know where that list even is.... Way to go, Beth...

                  But I don't really care actually. That's because a year or so later I read out of another print Christian teen source that lists aren't a good idea! This author guy, Justin Lookadoo, said that he felt that lists only applied to the male that the female is searching for, not the actual female writing the list. In other words, he feels that when girls search for their perfect guy they tend to forget that all have fallen short of the glory of God, and even if the guy has all the characteristics on her list, he's still going to stumble and fall and struggle. After all, he's only human. Besides that, Lookadoo also stated that if girls need to make their lists, they need to have those lists apply to themselves.

                  For example, if you want your man to be compassionate and loving, you need to make sure that that is something you aim to be! Everyone has heard the phrase, opposites attract, but when it comes to godly men and women, their similarities in godly characteristics are what they truly become attracted to. In other words, if you are truly a woman of God, than a man who is truly a man of God will be attracted to that. The godly individuals really know what they are looking for, and they have the eyes to tell the difference between a follower and a phony, beyond their lovely outward appearances. This is when that lame old cliche "what matters most is what's on the inside" REALLY makes sense. Godliness sure is hot stuff, isn't it???

                   Tell ya what, next time you refer to your list or even write one, write the list for yourself. I am certainly not against lists, but the problem is, sometimes we set our hopes and sights too far into our "perfect" future spouses instead of our awesome years of being single, when we are only dedicated to God. Also, we sometimes rely too much on our own preferences that we forget that God knows us waaaaaay more than we know ourselves. So let God choose your man for you. Trust in Him; He's got one in mind for you already, just let Him do His thing. Devote yourself to God fully, and you'll be the hot mama you were born to be, whether God leads you to a life of marriage or singularity. :)

               

Up In Da Club With an Unintentional Worship Song

Hey there my Converse shoes!


Have you ever heard a secular song on the radio and thought it sounded like it was talking about God? I recently heard a song by David Guetta and Usher that sounds SO much like a surrender to God's love! The song is called, "Without You" and it's had huge hype and radio play, ya know, it being one of those generic pop/club songs, but the lyrics are definitely somethin' else.

Of course, neither Usher nor David Guetta are necessarily considered good "role models", and of course the song was written to whine about how Usher misses his girl desperately and needs her back. But let's set that aside and say that they have officially created a worship song (unintentionally). Here's what I mean:

The song opens up with Usher admitting his faults: 

"I can't win, I can't reign
I will never win this game
Without you, without you.
I am lost, I am vain,
I will never be the same
Without you, without you."

The Bible teaches that without God, we are nothing. In the "game" that life is, we "can't win" on our own. We may have talents and God-given gifts, but without God (who is also love) we are "lost" and we "will never be the same". We may also have power to rule over a nation, but compared to God, our "reign" is nothing. The heart of a follower will always be more powerful than the heart of a king.

-Jesus replied, "What is impossible for man is possible with God". Luke 18:27 NIV

- If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:2 NIV

Usher also admits that he is "vain", which is true of everyone, we all deal with vanity one way or another. God is perfect, and He is the only thing worth lifting up. Without God we fail to recognize our own roles as humans and we tend to put ourselves higher than we should be. It's just as Ecclesiastes constantly repeats: "vanity of vanities, everything is vanity".

And as a fun little note, the lines "I am lost...without you" is almost like a wink at the chorus to the worship song, "Breathe" by Kathryn Scott ("And I, I'm desperate for you... And I, I'm lost without you").  

For such a simply worded verse there's a lot of meat in there. You can get a lot more out of that than I had written. But anyway, moving onward! Here are the most powerful lyrics of the song:

Pre chorus 1:

"I won't run, I won't fly
I will never make it by
Without you, without you.
I can't rest, I can't fight
All I need is you and I,

Without you, without you." 

Pre chorus 2:

"I won't soar, I won't climb
If you're not here, I'm paralyzed! 
Without you, without you.
I can't look, I'm so blind 
I lost my heart, I lost my mind! 
Without you, without you."

Here's what the B-I-B-L-E has got with the lyrics "I won't run, I won't fly.... I won't soar":

-"...but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31

-"You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself." Exodus 19:4

The Lord is a deliverer, and sends his help like a soaring eagle. Those who believe will also fly with those God-sent wings. Without God, you ain't got no wings to fly! 

With "I'm paralyzed":

-"Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”" Matthew 9:2

Without the forgiveness and love of God and the faith of those men, the paralyzed man would've stayed paralyzed for the rest of his life! 

With "I'm so blind... I lost my mind":

-The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind. Deuteronomy 28:28

That wasn't very cheery, but we cannot forget that God is a God of both love and justice. He does indeed have the power to take anything away from people, including their sight and sanity. However, the Gospels have recorded the healing miracles Jesus made on people who were blind, demon possessed, insane, etc. Without God's healing, where would they be? Where would we be?

And finally, "I lost my heart":

-"Scorn has broken my heart  and has left me helpless;
I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
    for comforters, but I found none....But as for me, afflicted and in pain—

    may your salvation, God, protect me." Psalm 69 verses 20 and 29

In this book, David writes of how his broken heart isn't something that he can fix on his own, the feelings of pain alone hold him down. He searched for comfort through others, but was unsuccessful. Later he begs for God to protect him through his time of need, and that was all it took for his heart to be found healed. God also asks of us our hearts, when we give that to him, we gain a heart out of it! When we refuse, we lose our hearts.  

I dunno about you, but that's pretty crazy how coincidental that is. Maybe God was being a little bit sneaky.... You how in my previous post about the Avengers I mentioned how in media sometimes you can find "golden nuggets" and signs of God's love? With this song, it didn't take me long to recognize that these signs were present, but when I went Bible surfing to find deeper meanings in the song, it's incredible what can come out it! Remember, there are reasons behind everything and symbols are everywhere, so always guard your heart. And when it comes to media and your everyday choices, remember:

"Chew the meat and spit out the bones"

                                      -John Boyle

And to send you off, here is David Guetta's official "Without You" song and lyrics video (complete with colorful artsy visuals!!!).

Do' da da go' hv i!!!!!! Keep on dancing! You know you want to!

Fangirls: The Cool, the Dumb, and the Ugly

Howdy partners! Good to be here with Y'ALL!

Being a fan of something can be SO cool. It's fun to really get into something and to choose your favorite characters and to gain inspiration out of it. It's even cooler when you have a friend or a bunch of friends who are into the same things as you, and exciting conversations can be made from that as you anxiously anticipate the next upcoming part of the series. Sometimes it's also really awesome to see the fun ideas and creativity that can be brought forth from fans!

Sometimes.


When you are a fan of something, say that really cute anime emo guy that never talks to anyone but is still frickin cute because he just is, you can basically take the way you view that character and "change" him around, or rather, re-design his characteristics to match your own personal preference.

For example, this emo boy just so happens to not be interested in dating any girls currently, and he probably feels that he just doesn't have time for them, being busy sulking around and thinking about how much life sucks and all. Sadly that's just the way the cartoonist created him. But the way his slanted, narrow eyes and shaggy black hair are drawn is just far too much for your brain to remove from its memory and your heart does a little jump every time he speaks in that deep, smooth voice (yeah you, fangirl, you know what I'm talking about). Even though he's fictional, you just somehow can't stop thinking about him. So what do you do???

You might decide to make your own OC (original character), draw her up and then pair her up with emo kid. In your imagination you are now somehow a part of the story and have full control over all the other character's emotions and decisions, especially the character you have a crush on. You two could have some sort of smoking romance and absolutely nothing could go wrong or get in the way of your "original" angst-y love story. Hey, it's a whole new world now! For you, anything goes. Until the next episode of that anime emo-kid is a part of comes on TV in English with a new character - a female who is destined to be his girlfriend. *facepalm*

Another typical thing that fans do that you could also do is save every single picture of him off Google and DeviantArt onto your computer. On YouTube you can make a million AMVs dedicated to that character and even make be the first to claim the username, emo_kidluver4ever. You can go to every underground nerd forum and post about your love for him and how IS (not how you wish he was) your husband and you will threaten anyone dare tries to disagree or argue back with a nasty type-tag-war (apparently you have such a convincing way with your words). After that no one will like you, but at least you've put all this effort into making claims to this character and now he's yours! Sorta. Happy now? Ppfft. Seriously, get a life.

You could also buy all the posters that have his face on it, buy all the t-shirts with him on them, buy all the tv show episodes, action figures, toys, video games, and costume items, etc. Basically you just need to stock up on as much of his merchandise as possible so that your can create your own custom museum or sanctuary in full dedication to him. You can brag to all your other emo kid-loving friends about how much of a bigger fan you are than them, and you can have them come over to your house so that they can marvel at the beauty of your emo-kid decorated dwelling. Soon enough you'll be flat-broke and you'll have to sell your prized emo-kid possessions. And possibly your house, too.

You might have been a victim of one or more of these fan situations until you met that creepy 45-year-old woman who can't stop obsessing over emo-kid (who's only 16 years old), and well, you back away from that situation.... very slowly..... and cautiously......

But thankfully there is good news for you. You can save yourself a lot of grief, time, money and disturbing mental images by just doing this: NOT. GOING. OVERBOARD.

There is fine line between a "you're an O.K. fan" and a "you-are-so-into-this-it's-really-creepy fan". I know some people who are crazy about Star Wars and collect their merchandise and watch their movies a hecka lot, but the difference between them and crazy fans is these guys at least have self-control. They can make friends with other Star Wars lovers and still go on living their normal lives without Star Wars being the only topic of conversation. Star Wars is a fun something  and they don't treat it like it's a someone. They know that nothing about Star Wars is more important than real-life experiences and people. They let Star Wars become a fun part of their lives without letting it be their lives. To put it all simply, what these people do is prevent an invasion from happening in their hearts.

Everyone has SOMETHING they can get all nerdy about! If you know me well enough, you'll know that right now I am crazy about the Avengers. Loki and Thor = awesome. And ever since I was little I've been a big fan of Sonic the Hedgehog. "You're too slow!" My absolute favorite TV show is Avatar: The Last Airbender, and lately I've been trying to keep up with their new spin-off series, The Legend of Korra! Look, there's not necessarily anything  wrong with getting into characters and whatnot, but you have to know when to prevent a mixture of falsehood being made out of your life. With as abundant as modern media is, it is WAY easy to get caught up big time in the mix. Your time is precious and it cannot and must not all be wasted on fiction. Know and understand what is real and let go of some of the things you cling to. They won't cling back. Remember that. You are in control of your own decisions, so be strong and don't let fiction become your new reality.

Bye bye, birdies! I'm going to bed. It's way too late. In fact, it's not even June 4th anymore. It's June 5th!!!! AHHHHHH!

SCARY! O.o

Hey there my homies in Russia and India!!


I noticed that on the new and snazzy Blogger update I can track where in the world my Blogger is being viewed and searched. If it turns up as someone's search result, it tracks that. If someone has viewed my profile, it tracks that. It also knows where you were when you viewed my page. The cool part about this is that I have people following me and watching me in Russia and India.  So I just wanna say Здравствуйте and Namasté to you! The scary part is that... that's just scary..... too scary..... It's like Google is watching all of us..... All the time!!! In OUR SLEEP!!!!!!!! Ok, ok, maybe not quite THAT extreme, but still, that's just freaky. O_O


I find that the scary factor with Google has gone up a ton recently. Ever since half the internet has been linked together like a web to Google things have made me feel a little uneasy. I dislike the fact that once you set up a Gmail account you get alongside it a Blogger, a Youtube, a Google+ profile and about a million other services associated with Google. I thought maybe the Youtube and (obviously) the Blogger additions were cool, but it's also weird and unnecessary that Google now access and information to everything anyone ever posts. Also, Google "knows" and tracks down a lot more about you than you know, so careful what you post and what you use through it. All you've ever seen, searched and done while Google was open is recorded somewhere on Google under your account. Even if your history was deleted, they still have that information on their end of your account.

Google knows that I have a mac, have about 300 pictures installed on my computer, 25 documents, and that I visit Facebook the most often in my Safari browser. It knows how many songs I've downloaded onto iTunes, how long my computer has been one and when I shut it down, and when I play Bejeweled 3 or Diner Dash.  How does it know all this? IP addresses. I don't even know what THOSE are.


Besides me being freaked out over all the scary things associated with Google and my Blogger account, I DID see the Avengers for the second time yesterday! LOVE THAT MOVIE!!!! Great heroes, great villain, and great fun (See my previous post titled, "The Avengers, gods, and my Latest Thoughts on us Human Beings" under the May 2012 tab if you haven't already). Before that I ate at a Chinese restaurant with my buddies and had this really yummy egg drop soup, a crab rangoon, fried rice, and an assortment of Chinese veggies. :) I rarely have Chinese/Vietnamese/Japanese food, so when I get the chance to eat them, it makes me very happy. :D 


A few days ago I also bought from Wal-Mart a Batman shirt, some colorful plaid shorts, and a picture frame for a Hatsune Miku artwork that my BFF Claire gave me for my birthday. BTW, Wal-Mart is convenient and is loaded with licensed character products, but it scares me too, but that's another story... For another time.... If I even bother telling about it.... Which I prolly WON'T. 


до свидания and Byvajcie Bengali!!!


:)

Pop Music, Sex, and Guarding Your Heart

Hey there, my Euros!

Why does Korean Pop music make me so happy? I do not know. Last night I was cleaning the kitchen  listening to 2ne1 on my iPod singing, "nega je chahlaga bam ba ra tatata bae" and dancing around like an idiot. Hey, I can get into music so deeply, even if I don't know what they're saying, being Korean and all. XD

Which got me thinking... Music has a huge effect on everyone doesn't it? Catchy music can persuade you into tapping your toes, singing along, and dancing along. It can stick with you for the rest of the day, and have bars repeating in your head all day long. Music can also get you thinking about different things and can even give you certain emotions, desires, or concerns. Music introduces ideas, protests, preaches, teaches, influences, inspires, and brags. Well, if music alone does a lot for you, what about the lyrics?

Many people know this but don't really know this: lyrics really do have an effect on you. You must be careful with what you let into your ears, because what you let in stays in, and can change the way you think and say things.

Generally, I don't really listen to pop music. Simply because it's all the same. The set-up and placement of the verses and choruses are the same, the beats are the same, and the (you guessed it) the lyrics are the same. They're all telling stories about their romantic relationships. It is usually one of these three:

1. The relationship they are currently in
              a. How sweet and great the other person is/or how much the singer is in love with him/her
              b. How they're relationship is unstable/How the other person is damaging or is a total nightmare, yet they choose to "love 'em" anyway for one reason or another
              c. How they hate each other, thus they are destined for each other

2. The breakup/being single
             a. How much the singer misses the other and longs for them back
             b. How much the other person wants the singer back, but they refuse because they're a "jerk" (and they go about listing why it is that him/her is a jerk)
             c. How happy they are that the relationship is off
             d. How they need someone better than jerk they just broke up with in order fill the void within themselves and not be lonely anymore

Aaaaand finally:

3. Sex
            a. How "amazing" the other person looks, thus they need sex with that person
            b. How "amazing" the singer describes himself, thus they need to have sex with someone else
            c. How "amazing" sex is in general thus they need to have sex with more than one person
            d. How drunk they were when they were partying, then they had sex
            e. How cheating on your bf/gf is cool and they will never know you had sex with that person
            f. How you need to drop your bf/gf because the singer is so much more fly than them

And with number three you will always see words like, "just for one night", "lose yourself", and well, you can guess the rest. Number three is sadly the most abundant in pop music. Seriously. Listen to the local pop radio for 15 minutes only and you'll see what I mean.

Isn't it strange how much we humans desire for another? We all need someone else there with us at all times, to comfort us, to have fun with, etc. etc. etc. It's really no wonder that relationships are the hot topic of everyday media. What IS shocking is how much relationships are viewed through a dirty, twisted view, and how often singers glorify that. Lately, it's been everywhere and easy to access.

Without going into a deep philosophical analysis about sex in music, I just wanna say that just because your music has some mild suggestive themes or even extreme themes (complete with the Parental Advisory sticker and everything), it really doesn't matter how well you can "filter" all that out. It really does effect you.


Here is an example:

Imagine that your brain is a crystal glass of pure water.

Got it? Is your brain a glass of water now? OK, Good.

Now imagine that the music you choose to listen to is either one drop of red food coloring or one drop of clean water. The water being good clean fun music and the red being "dirty" music. With every clean song you listen to, a drop of clean water is added to the glass. With every dirty song you listen to, a drop of red dye is added.

At some point, you are going have to drink that water. At the end of the day, you wind down and drink the glass, and whatever you "collected" in it will go down inside you, into your core. Red dye won't necessarily "change" the water or effect how it "tastes," nor will it necessarily effect how your core "digests" it, but over time, if you keep allowing red food dye in, you'll end up drinking pure red dye, which is not sustaining nor is it healthy. What your core receives is what will determine your energy level, what you think of, and what you do. If it is stained red, the red will eventually show through.

I know, I know, that was a strange example, but I hope it kinda made sense.... Sorta....?

Anyway my point is basically what comes in comes out, like with feeding your stomach food and drink, what you take in through your eyes and ears is what feeds your brain and your heart. So do me a favor and go through your iTunes and make a few deletes, ok? I'm not saying everyone needs to switch over to listening to Christian music only, what I am saying is guard your heart. It was made more delicate than you could ever know.

Proverbs 4:23 ESV 

"Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life."

     Remember to fill your heart with the "food" that God has provided you by reading His word and praising Him daily.

 

Proverbs 4:20 ESV

"My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings."

     If you feel that you are stained in any form of sin or trashy media, God offers cleansing, healing, and forgiveness for that:

Psalm 51:10 ESV 

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."

Thanks for reading, guys! God bless, have a great Friday and weekend!!!!  

안녕히가세요 (annyeonghi gaseyo)!!!