O Holy Night

Today is Christmas Eve. The day Jesus was born. The day that we celebrate and rejoice the miracle of Jesus! 

So today I'm putting aside my own hang-ups with God and religion to really reflect on the birth of Jesus. I'm sort of like Blaine Warbler (for all my Glee fans) in that I express myself best through song. So why not take a deeper look into my all-time favorite Christmas song?! 

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shinning. The weary world rejoices For wonder breaks a new a glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh hear the angel voices. Oh night  divine. Oh night, when Christ was born.Oh night divine!
Truly He taught us to love one another. His law is love, and His gospel is peace. Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother. And in His name, all oppression shall cease. Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we, with all our hearts we praise His holy name. Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we, His power and glory ever more proclaim! His power and glory...ever more proclaim!

What I love about this song is the reverence it holds for Jesus and the majesty of this moment. My favorite part is the energy/build-up as they sing "Fall on your knees". This is something to be in awe of...something so glorious that our only response is to fall on our knees. This is such a moving image of the world responding to it's savior. We were lost in the muck and sin, and weary were we. Then...when we had lost hope, He appears and we experience the thrill of hope restored! The only response to the beauty and overwhelming love before us is to fall to our knees. What a divine night indeed. 

I love that the song also talks about the life of Jesus. It talks about His teachings, what He came to do, and what the outcome of His life was to be. Christ is the Lord over all the struggles that we go through. He is with each of us and cares deeply for us. His name is powerful enough to heal and remove oppression. Not only did He come to earth to be with us but he came to heal us. And it all began in his birth. His law is love and He came to teach us peace. 

Overall, this song speaks to me in a very personal and profound way. It reminds me that Christmas is not about the lights, the tree, or the treats (even though I LOVE all of those things) but instead about God leaving all the comforts of heaven to struggle and live life among us. He chose to arrive as a powerless and poor infant. I have many doubts and painful reasons why I have kept God at a distance for several years now...but this always reminds me why I have not given up on faith completely. THIS selfless and compassionate act will always profoundly speak to why I love and trust in Jesus. And this song reminds us that this wasn't just ANY other night nor was it any other birth. This was the birth of Jesus. O Holy Night. Fall on your knees...allow your soul to truly feel it's worth. Allow your heart to feel the deep love He has for you. Allow your spirit to feel the beauty and presence of God as we celebrate this joyous occasion. 

Below are some of my favorite versions of this song, sung by some of the most talented and beautiful voices I have ever heard. Their talent and vocal strength show the song the respect it commands. While Lea Michele will always hold a special place in my heart, Luke Edgemon moves me to tears each time. Enjoy....

Josh Groban 

Luke Edgemon 

Lea Michele on Glee.

Obsession Sharing Time!

Those who follow me on twitter have already been exposed to my crazy love for this band, but I realized the other day that not everyone is on twitter (a shame really). So I figured I would use my small blog platform to introduce my latest (and in my opinion...greatest) obsession. 

Walk the Moon. 

Ohio boys who play killer tunes, love dancing, and paint their faces! This band has brought me so much joy because of their music and interviews I've seen online. I was lucky enough to meet two members of the band at a recent show at Capitol Records and they were simply the sweetest, most genuine guys I've ever met. And that's saying a lot from me because I've met someone who was pretty gosh-darn genuine too (rhymes with Carren Driss). This may shock some who have heard me gab on and on about said genuine person, but I'm going to say it anyways...I like the boys of Walk the Moon more than anyone right now. I haven't seen ONE bad video of them live or otherwise. Their live show is outstanding! You can literally feel the positive energy vibrate throughout the entire building. They smile and dance around, interacting with the audience like no other band I've ever seen before. Vocally, they are the strongest singers I've seen in a long time. You can tell they truly understand music and take the singing aspect just as seriously as they do their guitars and drums. I don't believe this is true for a lot of bands out there today. The lead singer, Nicholas, is particularly sharp in his execution of performing vocally while playing along with the band. He continues to impress and amaze me with each new performance. 

This is an early performance, in a place close to my heart (Madison Square Park)

I saw an interview where they talk about having fun and being told by fans/audiences that they actually look like they are having fun on stage. And they do! They replied that they are having fun and want their audience to have fun with them. They know most bands just look down or get so "into" their music (which is fine) but they want to share that experience with their fans! I love them for thinking that way and taking their live performance so seriously. 

And that's just the beginning to my love affair with this group. But I'll leave you with the performance below, which I think showcases both their live performance, acoustic setting, and their personality as a band. Fun, energetic, but mostly joyful! It's also my favorite song, tightrope! This heart is burning up!! 

Enjoy!! 

12/12/12 and Prompts!

I've had this prompt in mind for a while now, and today seems like a good day to be a bit more creative than confessional/personal. Let's see what happens! 

I was... hoping to get this done without stress, but today's workload was too heavy. 

I am... looking forward to going home and possible shopping tonight! 

I think... that 2013 needs to be a better year than 2012 has been. 

I wonder...  when I'll be able to say "I love my job" and truly mean it (at least 90% of the time).

I wish... people were nicer/more selfless. 

I save... barely any money for my savings account. But I'm working on it!! 

I always... regret not working out before work! It feels so much better when I do. 

I can't imagine... what life will look like in 10 years! 

I believe... In God, even when He feels so distant. 

I promise... myself that I'll take better care of me and not take life for granted. 

I love... the power of music in my life. Gives me energy, removes stress, or helps me feel an emotion no other thing can. 

Well, that's all I got for today. Maybe I can make this a semi-regular piece here to constantly reflect on my day/week. This was fun!

So this happened.

I'm entirely sure how to feel about it either. I mean, I'm glad that it's "over" and I've submitted the application. But I'm also scared of what the future holds. I have placed a LOT on getting back into school and only affording it because of the discount I received by being a staff of the university. I'm not really sure what I'll do if I don't get in...but let's not think about that.

I figure I'll use this time to reflect on my journey towards submitting my application...

Working here has been a learning experience in patience, understand, and finding purpose. In the course of my almost 4 years working here, I've struggled to find my place, struggled to find purpose, and (on a daily basis) struggled  to be nice on the phone when I'm being yelled at for something I didn't do...

While looking for purpose or some direction in life, I found the Critical Studies Department within the School of Cinematic Arts and fell in love! From what I've researched, it's perfection in a program. It combines my true loves of TV-Film and Entertainment culture studies! After looking at other programs the university offers (and frankly being disappointed) I was glad to see the school have some program for people like me...those who like love entertainment but don't necessarily want to be a director or work on the production side of things. Working on a set would be awesome, but not sure that can be my full-time job considering it's frakking hard to do and doesn't get me going as much as lively discussions do!

So...that's it.

Now I wait.

And wait.

And wait more.

The future has a lot in store and I can feel the changes ahead. They're coming. Some I want to avoid (like the stress of work AND school) and some I am ready and open to accept (like getting to write papers again!).

If you are a praying person, I gladly welcome prayers and good vibes!

<3 Erika