OK, so I know it’s been over a month since my last blog post. I was having major computer problems, I had to get a new laptop (which I’m also having problems with), &then I was on Fall Break. Anyways, yeah it’s been a while, but really, who reads my blog anyways? :P
The 1st big thing that’s happened since my last blog post was my college’s annual Scholarship Banquet. A man from my church helped our university president build the cross on our campus, & will also be helping build new gates & a guard tower for our entrance. Because of that, I guess, he received tickets for a whole table at the banquet (which, btw, were $175 a person). & he invited my parents & me. It was a lot of fun! I got to spend a night away from caf food, got to hear Andy Andrews & the pastor of Sherwood Baptist Church (Flywheel, Facing the Giants, Fireproof) speak, & they were both amazing! Plus, it was fun to get the chance to hang out with my parents & friends from church :)

The 2nd thing that happened…well, it’s a big deal to me, although it other people may not care about it at all. I love twitter! Ask any of my friends or family & they’ll tell you that I’m obsessed. It’s just a fun & convenient way to know what’s going on in friends’ lives & what your favorite bands are up to. Or at least, that’s what I use it for. I first got into it though Ben Kasica, lead guitarist for Skillet (@BenKasica) & now I’m hooked. Sometimes bands will have contests just for their twitter friends, sometimes you get free music, sometimes they actually tweet back to you! It’s just a lot of fun! Except when you find out that the lead singer from one of your favorite bands supports Obama & you’re a Republican…such as when @HawkDunn (Jason Dunn-lead singer of Hawk Nelson) tweeted

“congrats to pres. obama for his outstanding contribution to society! if i could have, i'd a voted for you too! much love!”  9:00 AM Oct 9th

 I couldn’t believe it! Honestly, I don’t understand how someone can call themselves a Christian then support a man who believes that if a baby survives an abortion attempt then the nurses can lock the baby up in a room & literally starve it to death. So I tweeted

“I may have just lost all respect for @HawkDunn...depending on if he's being serious or not...hmmm...” 9:03 AM Oct 9th

 I really wasn’t expecting anything to come from it but a few minutes later I got this @reply back from him...

"@lbusby58 if you can't respect your own leaders, then i'm sorry but i've never had respect for you (Romans 13:1,2)” 9:11 AM Oct 9th

 OK, honestly? First of all, I said I didn’t respect Jason Dunn, not Obama. Second, I @replied back & said

“@HawkDunn i tried to respect obama at first, but its hard to when his morals are completely unChristian. Prov. 28:2, 11:14, 29:14, 29:2" 9:25 AM Oct 9th

he then said: 

"i am shocked by the amount of disrespect americans have for their leaders:(" 10:20 AM Oct 9th

Seriously?!  This is what made me so mad!  Not ALL Americans disrespect him...way to stereotype people, Jason!  That's not something that the lead singer of a band, a band that tons of people love, should say! Especially in reply to their own FANS!  Grow up or go back to Canada.  Dang! 


So anyway, I’m not a fan of HN anymore. They probably don’t care. But I won’t be buying anything else of theirs. I’ve stopped following them on twitter, un”Become A Fan” on facebook, took them out of my favorite music on facebook, deleted their ringtones off my phone, & un-friended them on myspace. Drastic maybe, but hey, I said it was a big deal to me.

The 3rd thing-& my favorite-that’s happened since my last blog…YOUTHQUAKE!!! I went with my sister emily, roommate Anna, & two of her friends, & it was amazing to say the least! We paid for the VIP tickets so we got early entrance & got to meet skillet, who is one of my top 2 favorite bands (the other one is Family Force 5)!! After we got their autographs, me & Em went to stand as close to the stage as we could so we could get good pictures & all that. & it’s a good thing we went when we did, because as soon as we did, the gates opened for the regular-ticket-people & man, they ran fast! Pretty soon, we could barely move, there were so many people.
Recap: Outcry Band started out the night. They were OK. I didn’t know any of the songs & they had the bass way up or something because I couldn’t really understand them.
Then was The Letter Black. They were actually pretty good…considering I don’t like scream music. It consisted of all guys except the lead singer, who looked just like my friend Carrie…just take away the tattoos. This was when the mosh-pitting started…which I thought was kinda crazy since they had already said no crowd-surfing or sitting on people’s shoulders. But they allow mosh-pitting? Seriously? It didn’t make sense to me.
Then it was Decyfer Down’s turn. Now, I’ll be honest & say I don’t know all the lyrics, but they’re an amazing band! They put on a great show! Not to mention how often they talked about having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ!! It was AMAZING!
Then came Hawk Nelson. Normally, I would’ve been really excited. But after the twitter incident, I really just wanted them to hurry up & get off stage. I will say, though, that two of the highlights of the night for me were when Jason Dunn messed up the lyrics to 2 songs that they’ve been singing for years! It made me happy! ;)
Fee came out on stage after HN, & he brought a worship element to the show that was so amazing & wonderful & may not have been there otherwise. He is an incredible artist! If you haven’t checked out his music, you need to!!! Now!!
Next was Matt Pitt. All I’ll say about him is this: I would’ve rather had HN come back out than listen to Matt Pitt. I could’ve done without him.
Finally, it was 8:00 and time for SKILLET!!! & OH. My. Gosh! They put on such an amazing show!!! The pyro was insane! I mean, come on, they had spinning fireworks!! The new songs were awesome! John Cooper did the Monster voice! Me & Em ended up in the middle of a mosh-pit but this guy with long hair, snake-bites, & dressed in all black got in front of us & held the guys to make sure they didn’t hurt us. It was sweet! That’s why you can’t judge a book cover. Anyway, so yeah, it was an amazing show! One of the best I’ve ever gone to! & I’ve gone to my fair share of concerts…..

You can see my pictures from youthquake here :)
OK, I could say more but I'm tired of typing.
Later!
Lauren

video of the week!

I love the show House.  I don't get a chance to watch it that much, but when I do, it's pretty much hilarious!  So i ran across this clip, and I have no idea how old/recent it is, but it made me laugh!  :)

Enjoy!

song of the week

I first heard this song on GMC and I loved it!  Hope you do too :)

Chasing The Daylight - Phillip Larue

pic of the week-Gatlinburg

So…this is a little late, but I had an amazing summer! I got to spend time with family, turned 19, went to Noccalula Falls with my dad and sister, took a ride on the Boomerang Express at VBS ’09, was introduced to the cutest little restaurant called Olexa’s with THE most AMAZING cake EVER!! Seriously! It’s in Mountain Brook, AL; go check it out for yourself! :) Anyways, one of the highlights of my summer was our “family trip” to Gatlinburg. I put the little “ ” on “family trip” because it was only me, my mom, Michael, and Emily. My dad and Josh stayed home because my dad had to work and Josh had football practice.

Anyway, we had a lot of fun! It was just me and my mom for the first few days, because the triplets went with our youth group on a camping trip. My mom and I don’t really get to have times like that that often, so it was nice. Then, we went and picked up Michael and Emily from their trip, and that was an experience, omigosh! It was rainy, we had no idea where we were going, they didn’t have cell phone service where they were staying at the Ocoee River…me and my mom were freaking out! But, we finally got hold of them and met up with them and got Michael and Emily and went back to Gatlinburg. During the rest of the week, we went shopping on the strip, tried going to Cades Cove once (but my dad had told us to go a different way than we were used to so we ended up getting lost and going to North Carolina haha), succeeded in going another time to Cades Cove (this time we went early in the morning. We went around the loop twice, the 1st time it was really foggy and almost eerie, and we saw a lot of deer. The 2nd time, we saw a few deer and 2 bears-one was 1 ft from the road and up in a tree!!), went to Roaring Forks (a got only a few feet away from a mama bear and her 3 cubs), met Captain Jack Sparrow, witnessed an Elvis Pressley concert, went to Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies, went to Rainforest Adventure Zoo (and saw a TON of snakes as well as kangaroos, crazy-looking chickens, aussie goats, birds, and Zaboomafoo and King Julian-the ring-tailed lemurs) had some AMAZING food, and some good ol’ family bonding time.

Since today’s Tuesday, that means picture of the week…but I’m posting pictures from my trip to Gatlinburg. Enjoy!

Me, Captain Jack Sparrow, and Em

Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies

what made it so funny was that Michael had said only a few minutes earlier "It would be funny if we got to South Carolina" and then we end up in North Carolina haha!

This isn't zoomed in at all, although it is blurry.  This is how close we got to the mama bear!

This is the bear we saw in the tree...not even 15 ft from the road!

I just love this picture...it makes me happy!  :)

The reason they're called The Great 'Smoky" Mountains

I think this one looks kinda creepy...

I think the Smokies have some pretty gorgeous scenery!

Quote of the Week

We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.

—Aristotle



I wish someone had told me this earlier on in life.........

Dueteronomy 8:18 - Bible Verse of the Week

“Remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth.”  Deuteronomy 8:18

Our country today doesn't believe this verse.  So many people have forgotten how God has worked in people's lives throughout the past. Although Job went through so many struggles and trials and hard times, he still trusted the Lord, and because of that, the Lord found favor with him.  Also, the Israelites, as they were escaping Egypt.  They remembered the things the Lord told them, did exactly as they were told, and escaped.  However, once they got to the Promised Land, they didn't remember God, but rather did things their own way and God did not let them into the Promised Land and they wandered in the desert for 40 years.

God has been a huge part in our country's heritage.  The pilgrims came over here for religious reasons, the different colonies were settled for various religious reasons, Bible verses can be found on most monuments, various Presidents have used Bible verses in speeches or have had Christian principles, etc etc. 

I have been thinking about Duet. 8:18, and am wondering-does the fact that our country is having economic issues have anything to do with how fast our country is pulling away from God?  I think it might.  I don't know for sure, only God knows for sure, but that's my opinion.

What do you think?

"Here, buildings fell. Here, a nation rose!"

“Teachers, please turn your TVs to channel 6 for some important news.”

We stopped working on our science as our teacher turned the TV on. Suddenly, we saw the most horrific image come up on the screen. There were two huge buildings on fire, people screaming, running away from the burning buildings, people jumping from the top stories down to their deaths, and we watched as one after the other, they began to crumble down to the ground.

The date was September 11, 2001 - eight years ago.

That will be a day that will stay with me for the rest of my life. Although I didn’t know anyone directly affected by the attacks, the mere fact that my country was being attacked and the images from that day will always resonate in my mind. Although I was only in the sixth grade, I remember that day so vividly. I remember I was wearing purple capris and a white shirt with purple embroidery and butterfly sleeves. I remember it took me a while to realize what was going on because I had my glasses off because we were reading our science packet. I was sitting at the table by the door at the back left seat. I remember looking up at the sky during PE, and realizing that everything that was we were hearing about was really happening because there were absolutely no planes flying. I remember my Social Studies teacher was freaking out because her son had just boarded a plane in NYC and she couldn’t get a hold of him, and she didn’t know if he was on one of the planes that had been hijacked. I remember going home after school and turning my TV on and calling my neighbor and both of us crying on the phone. I remember the American flag being flown anywhere and everywhere. I remember the pride we felt every time we heard someone say “God bless America!” or “I’m proud to be an American!” I remember some of the things President George W. Bush said as he addressed our country – “Here, buildings fell. Here, a nation rose.” “Today, our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature, and we responded with the best of America.” I remember actually feeling like we were the UNITED States of America, not just the USA.

I remember. And I will NEVER forget.

Today, so many people have forgotten. They’re going about their day today as if it was any other day. Movies are opening, CDs are coming out, people are going to all these parties. It’s just a regular day. What will it take for our nation to become a strong nation once again? Another attack? A war on our own soil? Hundreds or thousands more dying due to our own apathy?

Another thought has come to my mind…what will it take for our country to remember our beginning? Deuteronomy 8:18 says “Remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth.” Our country has long forgotten God. We’ve become an atheistic, agnostic, Muslim, Hindu, Kabbalah, Scientologist, anything-but-Christian country. This country was founded on Christian principles! Faith was the reason the pilgrims left England for the New World. “In God We Trust” (Psalm 56:3-4) is on all of our currency. In fact, that motto was placed on our currency during the Civil war because of the growing Christian viewpoint. Salmon Chase, the Secretary of the Treasury during the time of the Civil War received many letters in which citizens advised that the US recognize the Deity on our currency. Chase responded to one of the letters with this:

Dear Sir: No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins.

The 84th Congress passed (and approved by Eisenhower July 30, 1956) a law stating “IN GOD WE TRUST” to be the national motto.

The fact that our country has moved so far away from Christ has always bothered me. Thankfully, I’ve grown up with a family that loves the Lord, and my dad got me hooked on politics at a somewhat young age. I’ve always been concerned that our country has forgotten that we are one nation under God, and in 8th grade, I wrote a poem about my concerns:

“One Nation Under God”

Once nation under God,

We recite this every day.

Our forefathers believed…

What has happened to us today?

Some people have stopped believing.

They want to end this phrase.

They took their plea to the Supreme Court,

Where they said, “America should not give God praise!”

But we ARE one nation under God.

Was, is, and always will be.

For if God had never existed,

There would be no you and no me.

If the American people would just turn back to Christ, we would be a much better country. Abortion rates would go down, the number of murders would go down, and our country would be put back in a position of greatness.

• “A nation without God's guidance is a nation without order. Happy are those who keep God's law!” Proverbs 29:18
•  “When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily; but with honest, sensible leaders there is stability.” Proverbs 28:2
•  “Without wise leadership, a nation falls; with many counselors, there is safety.” Proverbs 11:14
•  “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chron. 7:14
• “Remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth.”  Deuteronomy 8:18 
•  “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He chose for His inheritance.” Psalm 33:12
• “When I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?” Psalm 56:3-4
• "The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior! He is the God who avenges me, who subdues nations under me, who saves me from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from violent men you rescued me. Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD; I will sing praises to your name." Psalm 18:46-49
• "The LORD is my light and my salvation- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1
• “Leadership gains authority and respect when the voiceless poor are treated fairly.” Proverbs 29:14
• “Good leaders abhor wrongdoing of all kinds; sound leadership has a moral foundation.” Proverbs 16:12  

I will NOT forget the lives lost on September 11, 2001. I will NOT forget the images of the Twin Towers crumbling to the ground. I will NOT forget all that God has done for me and for my country. I will NOT be apathetic. I will NOT forget the men and women – the HEROES – fighting for freedom this very moment.

The new Skillet music video for their song “Hero” is an amazing video dedicated to the men and women who's life ended on Sept. 11, 2001. You can read the lyrics here.



Thank You God for all the heroes that gave their lives on Sept 11. We will NEVER forget!