Awesome Bible Passage - 11/20/16

     Sorry I haven't posted in a couple of weeks. My mom posted my article about voting on her Facebook, and in one day I got as many pageviews as I normally get in a month, which made me feel vulnerable and unnerved. I did give full consent to my mom to post it, so I'm not complaining, actually I am really grateful for the support I got on the post. It's just that I didn't think it through; this is supposed to be my quiet safe place and I'm only coming back here when it feels right.
     But I do want to share a passage from the Bible I heard in church this morning that I really love. It's so clear and well structured, and the words give so much hope to Christians. Reading over it makes me feel triumphant. Being a writer, I love some of the descriptive language used in the Bible, and this is just beautiful.

"I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory.'

'Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?'

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

     -1 Corinthians 15:50-58

     I'm thankful that I personally have victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. It gives me peace and lets me know that everything is worth it in the end because one day I will inherit the kingdom of God...not as flesh and blood, but with my soul which has been brought into the marvelous light. I'm grateful that God had the mercy and grace to save me. :)

Christians, Please Vote

     We're at a turning point in America and the decision we make as a country on Tuesday will affect the course of our nation. As someone who's not old enough to register to vote but is very concerned about the outcome of the current issues in our country, I beg you to use your rights as an American citizen and vote. Whether you realize it or not, there is so much on the line in this election. You might think that your vote doesn't matter, but if everyone has that mindset, imagine where we would be. It starts with the individual.
     You might be the person thinking, 'I could never vote for Trump'. You may think that you could never allow yourself to support someone who looks so immoral on the outside. But this is exactly what the Democrats want you to focus on through anti-Trump ads. The problem with thinking this way is that this election is not about the candidates, it's about the issues. If anything, it's about the Supreme Court. Several issues addressing religious freedom are on the line here, and Clinton will elect Supreme Court justices who will make the already existing oppression of Christians many times worse. Homosexuality and transgenderism are already being pushed in many places, and it's only a matter of time before the government tries to control the way our churches act against these issues. You have the chance to stand up against that!
     On top of that, take abortion, for example. This couldn't be more clear; Trump has said abortion is not acceptable, whereas Clinton voted against bans on abortion. Abortion is murder and there's no way around that. You can't tell me that the life of a human being inside the womb is any less valuable than it is after birth. Women who have abortions are cruelly taking advantage of the helplessness of their baby because they won't take responsibility for their own careless actions. Think about how terrible that is.
     Now think about the fact that you have the chance to change it. While your vote may be small, it matters. And I believe that it is every Christian's moral duty to vote. Even if you don't support Trump as a person, at least vote for the sake of his agenda. Every vote for Trump is a vote against Clinton's shockingly immoral support of abortion and homosexuality and her threatening stance against religious freedom. Think about what's really at stake here, then think about the fact that, if nothing else, you still have a voice as an American citizen. That's a beautiful thing. Please use it.
     And if you're still too lazy to vote, please don't be the person complaining when Clinton gets elected.

     "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin." -James 4:17 ESV

Song of the Week 11/6/16

     I'm going to make this short because a lot of deep things happened this evening and I don't want to dampen the atmosphere. But this is a remix I found yesterday and I want to share it here. I've listened to it twice and it's very catchy because I remember a lot of it in my head. A few quick words on the sound; I love how the future house synth melody counters the beat rhythm in the climax, and that's something you'll find in a lot of future house but I love it. It makes me feel like I've known the song for a long time because that sound is so familiar to me, and yet at the same time, because of that, the atmosphere is absolutely stunning. I love the way the verses flow into the drops as well, especially with the delay put on the 2nd drop.
     I've been a fan of Capital Kings for a while and they're still one of my favorite groups. I have a lot of respect for anything they produce and love the way they're trying out so many subgenres as they grow into better EDM producers, so I'm excited for anything they put out. There's not a single song of theirs that I dislike. I knew future house would be coming from them because they seemed really into it lately and Cole actually saw Oliver Heldens live a few months back which is insanely cool. But I'm so glad I finally get to hear them trying this sound, and it seems like they're natural at everything they try. It blows me away. This is their remix of 'Love With Your Life' by Hollyn.

I'm not going to settle.

     Tonight at youth we talked about how God created us to crave. More specifically, to crave Him. He created Adam and Eve with the desire for food, drink, and oxygen as well as for each other. We all have desires (cue Tristam "we all crave" ok I'm done lol). In our small group discussion the leader was saying that our society in America teaches us there is a specific path to happiness: good education, college, getting a well-paying job, getting married, owning a big house and nice cars, having kids, etc. But this won't always bring happiness. Only God will. The leader said that maybe God will say we can't have a relationship because we're supposed to go in a different direction and we have to be fine with that.
     I was delighted to hear him say this but at the same time it felt a little odd. I'm not normal. I don't crave relationships or friendships because I'm a loner. It's easy for me to not have a boyfriend, in fact it's what I want. Seeing everyone in youth that's my age (14!! so young) trying to date completely disgusts me. I don't say anything, but it disgusts me. I've known some of these people for years now and it saddens me to see them this way because it seems like they're way too materialistic. Like they're dating because they think it's 'cool' or something.
     Let me tell you, I'm never a person to just do something because it exists or it's 'cool'. I couldn't care less what's 'cool'. I WANT to be different. It's one of my deepest desires to be different. I don't know where I got it from, but it's sure there. I don't care what the current 'fashion trend' is because I'm going to wear whatever the heck I want (as long as it's modest and comfortable, mind you). I don't wear makeup because I live to please God, not the world, and in my personal opinion there's nothing wrong with my physical appearance. There's no point in makeup. It has no value to me.
     And I'm the same way about friendships, dating, marriage and kids and everything everyone expects a 'normal' person to do. Even sex. It all looks so black and white to me, because I live in a world of color deep inside. Music makes me more alive than anything else in this world, so I learned from my experience, and I got closer to music. People get annoyed because I'm so different, but I mean come on. Everyone has a different personality because if everyone was the same the world would be boring, right? Now take a step back. 7 billion people and counting on this planet and they all seem to live the same. Can't people see what a trap that is? Why on earth can't I be different?
     Also, what is the point of relationships at all? People seem to associate friendship with happiness for whatever reason. I associate friendship with pain, suffering, brokenness, sadness, and abuse. Maybe I've just never had a true friend in my life. But I don't understand what's so different. I don't understand family either. Okay, you're related to them but what's the point? Why does everybody act like family is the greatest thing in the universe when around my family I feel, for the most part, trapped and empty (no, I do not have social anxiety; I'm actually abnormally self confident for my age)? They're disappointed in my character traits that fulfill me the most. They think I'm blinded because I live in a beautiful reality. They never apologize when they hurt me the deepest. Tell me who's blinded here.
     (I know all that seems bold, and it was the hardest for me to put out, but I really want to express myself here. And those are some of my deepest thoughts. I'm not afraid to talk about them openly here. I'm doing this so I can learn and grow and then look back on who I was previously. But some parts of me will never change, and I'm getting to that.)
     People want me to choose 'priorities'. Okay, I will. The Monstercat Podcast. It's never failed me. Two years now and all it's done is made me feel alive, more alive than anything else in this world by a billion miles (I'm not even exaggerating). Yet people want to force me to focus on things that feel empty instead. If they love me, why don't they just let me run free? I could die tomorrow. Don't they want me to be happy? Is it so hard to let me go?
     Ok, that was a longer rant than I expected to take, but I did want to get these thoughts out there at some point. To conclude, I'm not going to settle for anything this world tells me. I listen to my own experience, and my own experience tells me to follow God and follow music. Tonight my youth pastor addressed those who are on sports teams, have a lot of friends, are dating, and yet feel empty. I'm the opposite. I'm not involved in sports, I have no friends (literally, and by the way, I love it), I'm not dating (and I never will), and yet I feel full. Why? Because I have all I need. What does that tell you?
     They'll try all they can to take it away from me. But nothing can separate me from God and the path He's chosen for me, which is music. So I'm not going to settle. I'm going to stand out. I'm going to be free. I'm going to keep living this way and no matter what happens I'm going to feel alive. I'm in the hands of the Creator of the universe. Nothing can truly go wrong now.

     That was interesting.





[UPDATE] 11/20/18

     I've made this as short and honest as possible. I'm here to clear up a few
things.
     One major change since this post is that I know now where my uniqueness came
from, and it's simple. God made me that way. I've learned to credit Him for
allowing me to stand out and giving me the strength to do so, because I
never would be able to otherwise. But it's not just something "I want"; it's
a calling. It's not as simple as what "makes me feel" a certain way; it's
about standing by the convictions that a lot of those "feelings" stemmed
from.
     Next I'm going to emphasize the paragraph entirely in parentheses. The
phrase 'deepest thoughts' means that the words in the paragraph above were
not concrete beliefs, but the most wild, free thoughts I had; the ones way
deep down in the crevices of my mind; the ones I wouldn't normally share.
And I knew I was being bold in doing so. This post was meant to explore that
ability to share, not to be the angry vent it may seem like from a certain
perspective. Topically, it's all over the place, not nearly as focused as I
would write it now. By the very last sentence I can remember how
experimental it was, and that I knew it was that way and was fine with it.
Even though it was published quickly after being written, it carried a lot
of weight to me. The main reason I felt that way was because I thought this
place could be a haven for me to express my thoughts freely without getting
a large audience. In reading back through this I can feel the pride I had
then, of finally being brave enough to share something different. That was
special to me. But I'd do it a lot differently now.
     The paragraph preceding that one in parentheses wasn't meant to personally
attack anyone by any stretch of the imagination. It wasn't meant to reflect
that I'm not grateful to have the biological family I have, or that I don't
believe God placed individuals where they are with wisdom and purpose. I
certainly do believe those things. This was only meant to share specific
feelings and frustrations I had at the time, and to be open about the pain I
was going through, as I thought I wanted to do here. In my inexperience I
tried to get by that way without also sharing those overarching beliefs I
just mentioned, and I've realized a lot of people could misunderstand that.
     I mentioned I was posting this to be able to look back on what I've learned.
I'm not sure now what I meant by that; however, since then I have learned a
lot about presentation. I've learned to counter my points with clarification.
I've also learned sitting on thoughts overnight, and taking time to develop
them, is important on the internet, regardless of how strongly felt they are.
I'm still learning how to be more eloquent and I think I'll always still be
learning that.
     My last post here explains a lot of why I went silent afterwards. It's
because this place is tied to my past and my vulnerabilities. Two years ago
I came back after I'd been through a lot, and I was struggling to make this
work again; yearning for the avenue of self-expression I once had. Then I
discovered I couldn't feel safe here either. I'm progressing differently
now; spending some time developing and mastering my eloquence internally
so that when the time comes I'll be ready to share again. But it will take
a while.
     I didn't want to come back here. I'm only clearing those things up for
anyone who might visit in the future and read this, since the presentation
is pretty rough. I'm not here to apologize for the shortcomings I had in the
past, but rather to clarify my awareness of them. I'm not taking this down
in case it inspires someone else out there who's trying to stand up for
being different. But it's important for such a bold outlook to be set straight.

Song of the Week 10/30/16

     For those who don't know, I've been a James Bond fan for about five years now. I drove myself insane from fangirling when Skyfall came out and finally got to see it (three or four times) when it was televised a year or two later. When I heard about Spectre's release, about a year and a half ago, I was pretty excited, and I remember listening to the theme song when it came out and celebrating the movie's release day on November 6 by putting a poster for it on my iPad's home screen.
     This one, to be exact:

     (Wow, I just noticed the glass is shattered in the shape of the arms on the Spectre logo. That's really dang cool.)

     But somehow, throughout the next year I all but forgot about it. Until two weeks ago when I learned it was coming on TV and I finally got to see it. And I'll have to say, as much as I loved Skyfall, I don't even know which one I love better now because Spectre was amazing as well. I even made this ring for it, which you'll totally get if you've seen the movie:

     (It may look a little rough but things this small are extremely hard to make out of clay.)

     As a lover of music and atmosphere, the opening sequence of a James Bond movie is one of the most important elements to me, because the song can set the atmosphere for the movie. So, I had to defer this one for another week to accommodate for the song I found last Saturday, but here it is: Sam Smith's "Writing's On the Wall", the theme for Spectre.

     The first time I heard this song, I didn't like it, and I didn't hear it again until I was actually watching the opening sequence for Spectre, which was an amazing experience because I recognized elements of the song after having forgotten about it for so long. But that time my mind started opening up to the song a bit more. By the end of the movie it was still in my head, and I had a new understanding of it. I knew there was no way I would've grasped the atmosphere of the song if not for the movie. And in reflecting on that, I learned that the movie can actually set the atmosphere for the song as well.

     This song has a very soft feeling most of the way through, so a lot of the emotion is set mainly by the vocals themselves. Although the lyrics of both verses are different, the melody is the same, and that always creates a nostalgic feeling within the song. It also makes me impressed with the songwriter's job of fitting the syllables of the lyrics into the melody while also expressing a deep yet tangible emotion through them. I like how the strings after the chorus echo the melody of the verse vocals while using the same chord progression, which alternates between one major and one minor chord. It creates a very trapped and dreary feeling and soft-spoken emotion which in my opinion fits very well with the movie.

     With all the other melodies being the same, the chorus is the only part that's really different. And for the most part it's actually softer than the rest of the song, which makes for a very unique feeling. The high pitch and vocal melody that starts off the chorus is absolutely addictive to me. It creates an eerie feeling which carries the aforementioned emotion even farther and gives it a sort of rhythmic, almost lullaby-like twist at the same time. (It might seem weird to say that, but it's there.)

     I'm wanting to learn this song on the piano now. I'm unsure how others may perceive its atmosphere without seeing the movie as well, since for me they go hand in hand. But give it a listen anyway; who knows what it might do to you?

Song of the Week 10/23/16

     I had a different song in mind for this week but I'll have to save it for the next. I found this song yesterday and I'm so obsessed with it that I've listened to it four times so far and I'm trying not to overlisten. I was listening to TobyMac nightcores (because it was his birthday and I wanted to celebrate) then I got off track and started listening to other Christian nightcores which led to this one. I'd never heard of it before but I knew of Jonathan Thulin so I thought I'd give it a try. It's called 'Masquerade'. I loved the deepness in it and it seemed to pull me in so I decided to listen to the original and ended up listening to that twice yesterday and another time this morning.

     I know all the lyrics by now (they were fairly easy to learn). They hold a lot of truth as they are convicting Christians who are too afraid to let their light shine because of the judgment of the world. The light is nothing to be ashamed of, but it can be hard to stand strong when we're scared. However, the Bible says "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:12) Besides, we're in God's hands, and God is so much stronger than the world. This song is a challenge to never hide the light of Jesus, and I grasped that meaning right away because of personal events. I love the way this concept is pulled off metaphorically, which is something I really enjoy doing in songwriting.
     I don't actually know what genre Jonathan Thulin generally releases, as I haven't listened to much of him yet (although I do know his brother is David Thulin, who is an EDM artist, so I'd expect something slightly electronic), and I don't even know what genre this song is. But nonetheless, the instrumental side of it is awesome. It has a nice rhythm, although the tempo is a little slow, but the rapid violin melody counters that and creates an atmosphere which makes you picture dancing in your mind. All that together with the awesome vocal fillers after the hook echo the lyrical concept very well.
     I love the descending rhythm of the vocals in the verses, which are contrasted later by the ascending vocals in the bridge. There is also a suspenseful feeling just after the bridge vocals which adds to the entire atmosphere as well. The chorus is actually repeated four times, but I'm fine with that because I love it. This whole track is pulled off pretty nicely when you break its elements down. Jonathan Thulin is not a very well known artist, but this track is amazing, so I'd definitely recommend checking it out and giving it some support if you like it.

Fan photography for this song; photo cred to me :)

My Cat Got Mad Today

     I have a rather extensive history with cats, as I've lived with them ever since I was born. One of the two cats I have now is a faithful grey and white female that I've had for six years, the only one remaining from her litter of three. She may seem lazy, as she spends much of the daytime indoors, but she possesses an ability to run quite rapidly upon necessity and even to scurry up trees in order to obtain a position on top of our roof. Just the other day I was in the kitchen when I witnessed a great burst of motion in the tree outside the window followed by the cat scrambling up its thin trunk between all the offshoots of evergreen leaves, only to make her way down more slowly ten minutes later.
     The biggest reason this seems a little surprising for my cat is because she's put on some weight in the last couple years and is not exactly the thinnest cat in the world anymore. We tried to ration her food a bit more sparingly but it was to no use. Nevertheless, she's happy and that's all we really care about.
     This cat has several places she likes to lie down to take her 7-hour-long "catnaps", interrupted by an occasional trip to the food bowl (or sometimes the younger cat's food bowl, in which case I have to discipline her), and she often rotates from one place to the other, choosing one for a few weeks and then moving on without warning. There is no transitional phase, just one day she decides to claim a different spot and that's that. She may not go back to the other spot for the better part of a year.
     Right now I'm privileged enough to say that the cat (aka. the household queen) has chosen my bed for her current resting spot. Today she was sprawled across my blanket, trying to drown out the sounds of my mom and I repeating Spanish phrases back to my computer, which was just to the left of her. At the beginning she ignored us and continued on with her nap, but as time went on she couldn't seem to keep her eyes closed and finally she turned and gave us a quite annoyed look, which I know all too well to mean "You're disrupting my beauty sleep". My mom wasn't paying attention although the look was directed at her; nonetheless, the cat held her position and didn't say a word.
     After a while, the cat had no choice but to be fully awake. I occasionally put my head at her level and told her she was such a pretty cat, and she stared back at me with her curious green eyes with pupils the width of a needle due to the brightness of the sun. She was already getting slightly unnerved by my stroking her tail, which for some reason I was suddenly enthralled with. I kept protesting that she had a pretty tail but she would have none of it.
     But all this was nothing compared to when I reached in and briefly stroked the pocket of fat she has sticking out just below her belly, covered with white fur. She reached forward and resolutely slammed her paw down, claws extended, right where my hand had been before. I began apologizing profusely but this was not enough to satisfy her. In her little mind, she had just gotten mad, and therefore she had to look for anything and everything in her path to take that anger out on. I saw the fury in her eyes and immediately saw the necessity to back away so she wouldn't pursue me as her victim. Being in a curled position meant that the first thing in her path was her own tail. She apparently saw the tail and was so mad that it dared to twitch in her presence that she reached even farther and clamped her unrelenting claw down right on top of it.
     Whether she realized her mistake or not I don't know. But she was still not content and soon fell to unleashing her rage on the thin extensions around the edge of my blanket. Gripping the fabric in both her claws, she attacked it and bit into it as if it were a living creature which had just dared to insult her status as queen.
     She continued to do this for a minute, but before long she was sitting up and bathing, then, seeming to have had enough of the situation (or perhaps wanting more food), she got up and left.

Song of the Week 10/16/16

     I chose this song, "Blessings" by Laura Story, because a woman did a cover of it this morning at church and it's been stuck in my head all day because I've been working on this blog so much that I haven't listened to anything else. The lyrics are very reassuring and have a level of insight that most Christian songs don't achieve. I found this lyric video so you can see what I mean, but there's almost no need because Laura sings the words so clearly that you can easily understand them.
     The instrumental part takes a minimalist approach with only the piano creating a simple melody and giving most of the spotlight to the deepness of the vocal, while between the verses and at the beginning and end it appears for a short time to echo the melody. You can also hear the complexity of the piano which gets louder at the very end of the bridge to perfectly accompany the soaring voice of the singer. I love the extension of the last chorus as well. This isn't like most Christian songs on the radio, whose pop sound gets monotonous after a while. This one stands out a lot because of its uniqueness and it's one I still love.

     I finally figured out how to use the coding to make the embedding smaller. *sigh of relief* It was going to drive me insane having every video stick out twenty feet on the right and cover up my beautiful new tag cloud.

I'm Back

How do you get the text to center on this thing?

Ok, there we go.

Wait, do I want it centered?

Not really.

     Ok, that's better. Now let's take a minute and look at that fancy tag cloud over on the right. >>>

     Beautiful, isn't it? Yeah, I've been trying to get that on here for a year. So I'm very proud of it. I don't know if I want the numbers with the tags because it's more useful with them but prettier without them. I tend to go for usefulness though. Looks literally mean nothing.

     So, let's start with the reason I've been gone. Mostly it's because last year I got an account on a different platform and posted about my life in detail on there so, although this blog was vaguely on my mind, I didn't feel the need to do it here as well. Everything went perfectly there for about six months, and then some drama took place. It got fairly sorted out and I tried moving on with an optimistic approach (as is my natural custom), but the damage was pretty much irreversible and in the following three months my seemingly strong rope came unraveled one thread at a time until I realized (by the means of a Monstercat album, none else) I was hanging on for dear life. Then in one last blinding crash, every friend I'd made while I was there decided to turn on me (which was probably due to a post against transgenderism I'd made three months earlier), and in the space of three days I lost everything I had there. The reputation I'd built, the community I'd surrounded myself with, my plans for the future there...everything. I couldn't take it anymore, and I left.

     Even though that's been over for the better part of four months, it was a very mentally traumatic and damaging experience and the dust is still settling in my mind, so it took until this morning for me to think of this blog again. I immediately wanted to come back and renovate it, so I've been working on that for most of today. I went through all the settings, changed my description and profile, added the tag cloud, and then changed the tags on every single post to make navigation easier (no, I don't have OCD, but I am a perfectionist in some sense).

     I don't really know what I'm doing here next. I wanted to post something to revive the blog since I haven't posted since the 021 era, which blows my mind, and it's now 029, which also blows my mind (I live my life in Monstercat eras, quite literally). This post was actually a completely empty draft I made, for some reason, on May 28th, 2015, right before Contact came out. (There's a reason I put on my profile that Monstercat is my lifestyle. This stuff happens in my subconscious all the time, although most of the time it leaks through to my conscious and blows me away because it's been so long since Contact, etc.)

     But anyway, it's been almost two years since I've posted. And I'm not trying to stereotype, but when you're this age a lot changes in two years. I've learned a lot about myself. My mom told me that the early teen years are more about friends and the later years are more about finding yourself. I'm currently 14 (almost 14 1/2). I don't really care about friends (although that's fairly recent) and I'm pretty sure I've already found myself (although I still discover new things and I don't think that will ever stop). At this point I'm just living and being happy. And that should be fine.

     People misunderstand my motives for having no friends. I just don't really get the point when I don't want any. One of the last things I would do is blend into society because it's 'normal'. I'm far from normal. I've always been that way. Right now my entire life is Monstercat and I love it that way. I don't think that will change. EDM is what I was born for, and completely thanks to Monstercat (and the two people who indirectly led me to it), I found that out early. I could never repay them for making me the happiest person alive, but the least I can do is exercise my virtue of loyalty and support them. And that's not hard. I've been hooked on that label for well over two years.

     I try to keep a certain level of trustworthiness, and I really don't want to be the person that posts once a year saying they're going to post more often. So I'm going to be completely honest, I don't know how much I'll be posting here after this. It should be a fair amount if things go well and my mind doesn't decide to turn back. (My mind is very sensitive and I already feel weird trying to return.) I don't even know why I'm here right now. I don't know what's going on. But I want this blog to keep developing with me. I'll probably keep it for a long time. It's quiet here. And I like it that way.

2k Pageviews! & Song of the Week 1/24/15

by Darling Daughter

Hey you awesome people, I would like to thank you all for the amazing support and announce that this morning at 8:57 AM, this blog reached 2,000 pageviews!

To celebrate, here's your song of the week...20K by Pegboard Nerds, my favorite artists on Monstercat!

I can't say how excited I am...here's to another 2,000 and beyond!!!

2014 Recap

New Year's Eve
December 31st, 2014

So many life-changing things have happened to me this year. Looking back on it all is absolutely amazing. I've gotten a lot closer to God, developing a very personal relationship with Him, with some help from TobyMac, K-Love and my church. Speaking of church, I also got baptized in August and grew a lot closer to my church family as a whole. In June I went to a week-long camp with my youth group, which I officially moved up to in September. Moving up was so awesome, and I'm taking part in so many new experiences now that I'm older, and learning to put my life and future in God's hands and do his work. I have many great friends at youth now and see them every Wednesday at Bible study. I am still doing karate, I'm a 1st brown now and I will probably test for black belt next May. I had big dreams, I pursued them, and with the help of a few very loving members of my family and a couple security guards, I met my favorite singer in the world, TobyMac (yep, more on that later), which was a moment I will never forget. I am also still taking piano lessons...but now I do it for more than just to come in every week and get the notes right. I do it because I have a passion behind it that is driving me. To me music is more than something I listen to. It's a passion that I feel, live and breathe. Finding my passion for music has undoubtedly been the highlight of my year. I know I have had it my whole life because of feelings I had in the past. But for all these years, it was hidden beneath a shell, and it took K-Love and TobyMac to first crack that shell open. It also took Monstercat for me to fully realize what a beautiful thing it was. Monstercat made me discover my love for electronic dance music and has given me newer and even bigger dreams, along the way making me appreciate how beautiful life itself is. Monstercat has been not only a label to me, but a second family. It's where I can be set apart from the rest of the world, in perfect harmony with the things I love, and surrounded by people who love the same things. It's where we all have a certain connection and unity, and we all can somehow be on the same page about so many things...like how beautiful memories are and how each milestone is the perfect place to look back and to look forward. That's where I developed my passion for life. Having that also compelled me to write about it, so now I journal every day. My hobbies still also include drawing and photography. That was a short recap of my life in 2014 (especially since I haven't posted for so long...sorry guys).

All the adventures that made up the big journey of 2014 have been awesome. It's kind of sad saying goodbye. But now it's time to move forward and embrace the opportunities 2015 holds for us. It's going to be amazing. Are you ready?

Old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new.
- 2 Corinthians 5:17b

Great Year With Monstercat...and My Pick For Best Track Of the Year!

This year on March 25th, I found for the first time the EDM label Monstercat, not knowing what a journey it would take me on. As I slowly grew into more and more of a fan, I have been absolutely mindblown by not only the awesome music Monstercat has to offer, but the out-of-this-world dedication of each and every member of the family and the feeling of community between the artists, fans, and the Monstercat team. Monstercat isn't just a label. In the podcast director's words, it's where strangers become friends and friends become family. To me it's where we all come together, set apart from everyone else, and we can all be on the same page with each other because of this connected love for EDM and the beauty and passion of music and life that we all feel as one. I'm extremely proud of how far we've come together, and I know that we wouldn't be who we are today without each and every member of this family. I'm extremely privileged to be a part of it myself. As 2014 comes to a close and 2015 approaches, it's time to not only embrace something new and look forward to what a great year we're going to have in 2015, but embrace our memories and look back on how far we've come this year.
There have been so many amazing tracks released this year on Monstercat, and I could go on and on about how amazing each one is...but in the end, my personal favorite undoubtedly has to be Snowblind by the incredibly talented Au5, featuring chilling vocals by Tasha Baxter. This song really stands out to me in 2014 because of the beautiful lyrics, gorgeous effects and the feel they give, Tasha's breathtaking voice, SWEET heavy dubstep climax, story told by the melody and chords, tempo and the way it works with the rest of the song, theming and visual inspiration, the way you can feel how much work Au5 put into it, and pretty much everything else...including the passion and charm I felt when I first fell in love with Snowblind at the beginning of September that is still going strong today. And the way it all comes together is more than amazing. To me, Snowblind is overall just on another level of beauty, something that will pull you in from the start. Enjoy!

- Darling Daughter <3 12.26.2014="" p="">

What Happens When I Say "And it came to pass that there was a TobyMac concert" and Hand My iPad Forthwith to My Mom and Tell Her to Come Up With More

7 And it came to pass that in the third year of Midnight's reign, there was a TobyMac concert, whereupon all the peoples of the earth thereof went up unto the concert forthwith, excepting Darling Daughter, whoso according to the book of Macnchez, 8 was abiding in the hills weeping and wailing and mourning and gnashing her teeth as she pondered unto herself, saying therefore, 9 "What does the fox saith?" and "if a fox saith whatsoever he saith in the woods and no one heareth the fox, did the fox indeed speaketh?" 10 and "if it cometh to pass that TobyMac leapeth into the mosh pit and no man catcheth him forthwith, will he still returneth to the stage and proclaim, 'Speaketh thou life!'?"

*facepalm*

(I WILL tell you all what I got for Christmas sometime in the next five years, but right now I'm busy writing a letter to TobyMac, which I have to give to my friend before this weekend...I'll explain later.)

Merry Christmas 2013

Your special featured Christmas song, What a Glorious Night by Sidewalk Prophets! Such a beautiful song. I like listening to it with my headphones, in the dark, with the fiber-optic Christmas tree on my dresser glowing.

And for all my fellow cat lovers out there, Auntie M sent me this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fap0ofpdBa4

We gave our three spoiled kitties (Midnight, Juliet, Twilight) some new toys for Christmas. In the first 15 minutes, Twilight had already gotten her new white mouse toy stuck under a cabinet in our dining room. It's really hard to get under it when you want to fish out kitty toys, so we never really made a point to do it before. That kind of explains why when we went to fish out the mouse toy (Twilight was very desperate), we found not only the mouse, but a pink ball, a yellow ball, two bouncy balls of mine, a rock, an old bracelet that was Sardina's, a candy cane ornament, a Moravian star ornament, a wise man ornament, a green fish filled with catnip, a blue fish filled with catnip, and some kind of a magnolia seed pod stem from LAST Thanksgiving. So while I'm writing this, Mom is going around the house fishing out all the cat toys from under the other cabinets, including the refrigerator and oven. :P

As for me, I got a lava lamp for my room (YAY), a green and black TM outfit (scarf, hat, track suit, and white sneakers to write lyrics on), a new black dress coat, and more, and I still have the big family party to go to Sunday...

From left to right: Sunflower, Sophia, Midnight, Zahra, Sneaker, April, Zany, Buddy, and Mayhem.

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR from all of us here at Darling Daughter Blog, TAC Studios, and Webkinz Plush World!!!



Thanksgiving, MORE new TM stuff, & Song Of The Week 11/28/13!!!

I'm SOOO thankful for my Mom this Thanksgiving!!! TobyMac & DiverseCity Band, I'm "Thankful For You" :) too for delivering this GREAT album!!! :D :D :D

 

Getting this CD from my mom yesterday really made my day after kind of overreacting to the fact that Toby isn't coming near where I live on his tour next spring.

SO SO SO thankful to have everybody from my Dad's side of the family get together at our house this holiday!!!

And guess what that sweetie pie Aunt Beth gave me?!?!?! Another TM bracelet!!!

 

Now, with 2 CDs, 2 bracelets, AND a shirt, I totally feel like a true fan. =D

BTW, here's something for y'all to listen to to get you in the Christmas spirit: 1st track on my new CD and my very favorite Christmas song, Christmas This Year, featuring Leigh Nash!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCkFzWJuQlY

I just LOVE Leigh Nash's part! She's perfect in this song!!! And Toby totally aced it as usual... Songs as beautiful as this are why I like Christian contemporary music so so much. The lyrics are so meaningful and the people that mix the music just overdo it!!! I'm so glad God gives people like Toby such amazing talents and that they use those talents to bring the glory back to God.

Oh, and here's the Lego music video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWGxf_Zu8uI

And the Operation Christmas Child music video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVdIQduaqFw

Check out "Thankful For You" by TobyMac too!!!

I hope everyone has a very BLESSED Thanksgiving with their family!!!

=) =) =)

...Needless to say, the turkeys aren't too happy about it.

TobyMeow Hits Deep Tour 2013 (featuring Sunshine and The Wildcats)!!!

by Willie Bewhiskered

Photos courtesy of Darling Daughter at TAC Studios

Hi everyone! This is Willie the tuxedo cat (drummer for the Wildcats), here to give you insider access to never-before-seen footage of the TobyMeow Hits Deep Tour 2013!!! :D

Here are some photos from the concert at Aunt Beth's on October 26, 2013:

Sunshine performing One Drop and I Make My Own Sunshine

An assorted group of pets performing Why Can't We Be Friends

TobyMeow performing I Gotta Lotta Soft Spots For You

Not many pets get to go to Aunt Beth's house, so there weren't many there, but it was fun anyways. April wasn't there so I got to play the drums the whole time!!!

Photos of the concert at our house on November 16-17:

Aerial view of us backstage before dress rehearsals on November 15





Line for the concert the next day





Backstage pass winner Jasmine Bewhiskered getting autographs



Jasmine Bewhiskered

TobyMeow with Sammy Bewildered



TobyMeow with Car Kitty and her mom + Bently

Everybody waiting for the concert to start...

TobyMeow, Midnight, Zany, and Mayhem performing Lose My Soul

TobyMeow performing Get Back Up

All of the Wildcats (except me) performing Unstoppable

All the kids onstage dancing to Favorite Song at what was meant to be the end of the concert, until the audience begged for more

Everybody taking a bow at the end

We had an awesome turnout for the concert - 47 pets (and 2 humans) in total!

We performed 20 songs, including Tonight, Hold Me, Good Morning (it was weird performing THAT at 8:00 at night), City On Our Knees, a remix of Me Without You, Steal My Show, Middle Of Your Heart, and Speak Life. And one thing I just realized a minute ago is that we started the concert with TobyMeow performing Made To Love and, thanks to the audience begging for more, ended it with the Wildcats performing Born To Love!

As for me, I spent most of my time backstage watching the concert (very fun), except for when I did the drums for the Wildcats' 2 songs, then at the end I UNEXPECTEDLY had to sing (very stressful). Everybody had lots of fun and the concert was a blast. It was a great experience working with all of the crew on the tour (basically everybody from TobyMeow, Sunshine, and The Wildcats, plus Chloe Elena), except for TobyMeow's DJ, Buddy, who snored very loudly every night and then wondered why everybody else was still in bed at noon. **SIGH**

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed this inside look on the TobyMeow Hits Deep Tour 2013!!! Bye!

Upcoming TobyMeow Concert!!! and Double Song of the Week 11/9/13

I'M VERY SORRY ABOUT THIS!!! It was supposed to get posted on the 9th but today I realized it wasn't ever posted :P So when you're reading this keep in mind it was written on the 9th.

Hi everyone!!!

I've had a totally awesome week. I got my new TobyMac CD and t-shirt on Monday, then on Wednesday one of my friends came up to me at karate and gave me a bracelet I had been wanting for weeks and weeks!

 

The Webkinz and I have been so busy yesterday and today planning and rehearsing for the TobyMeow Hits Deep concert on the 16th...we can't wait! We'll have TobyMeow, Sunshine, The Wildcats, AND Mayhem (who will be singing a couple of Mandisa songs). They're all going to perform their top hits, a total of 20 songs! The Wildcats are releasing their new album soon and there are already rumors of a Wildcats concert sometime next year...

Yesterday, the 13 pets of the TobyMeow Hits Deep Tour crew and I planned out the order of all the songs for the concert and rehearsed almost all of them. Today we've been picking out what everybody is going to wear for the big night (Sneaker's outfit is SUPERB), and I've been busy helping everyone that wants to come to the concert figure out their budget and how much money they'll spend. A few pets have even won free tickets, bracelets, and headbands through the prize drawing. This is going to be so fun...

Anyway, since I've fallen a bit behind on Song of the Week, I'm just going to give you a Double Song of the Week now and wait until next Sunday for another one.

This song is by TobyMac's oldest son Truett. He has made several appearances on Toby's albums as TruDog, and this was from Toby's 2010 album Tonight. It's called Loud 'N' Clear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_jl8ivfyRo

...and here's the Telemitry Remix, which I LOVE listening to on my iPad with my headphones with the volume turned way up. =D Telemitry is probably my favorite TobyMac remixer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcbrH02obHU

Enjoy!

If you want info on the TobyMac Hits Deep Tour, featuring Jamie Grace, Mandisa, Brandon Heath, Colton Dixon, Chris August, and Capital Kings, go here:

http://www.hitsdeep.com/

...or here:

http://tobymac.com/

(**SIGH** Wish I could go...)

Song of the Week 10/29/13

Hi! What's up? :P

I had been toying around with lots of ideas for song of the week before I picked this one out. This is the one I had thought of originally, and then lots of other songs came to mind, but this song seemed to stand out. This morning I was still trying to pick one when I checked out the Recently Played Songs list on the K-LOVE website, and it was playing, then this afternoon going to piano lessons I heard it in the car again:

Holding Nothing Back by Ryan Stevenson.

This is a song about not letting anything get between you and God, and following him without hesitation. Here is the official lyric video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vzMyIzkyD4

I had no idea it was co-written by TobyMac, but that's what it says!

And here's the video of Ryan Stevenson performing it live on K-LOVE:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5lbeniCVlk

I hope you enjoyed it!
(THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO GET POSTED ON TUESDAY!!!)

Song of the Week 10/22/13 and Kitty On My Knees Lyrics

(:  HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOBYMAC!!!  :)

(I drew the party hat on ArtStudio. This was one of the only pictures of him in which he is not wearing a hat, so I figured that he needs one! And how fitting for his birthday! LOL)

In honor of TobyMac's birthday, here is the song of the week from his 2010 album Tonight:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHsrAiWLr3Y

This has to be one of my favorite TobyMac songs, maybe my favorite from that album. But you can't make me pick one single favorite TobyMac song. They're all so good!!!

Here are the lyrics:

City on our Knees

If you gotta start somewhere
Why not here?
If you gotta start sometime
Why not now?
If we gotta start somewhere
I say here
If we gotta start sometime
I say now

Through the fog
There is hope in the distance
From cathedrals
To third world missions
Love will fall to the earth
Like a crashing wave

Tonight's the night
For the sinners and the saints
Two worlds collide
In a beautiful display
It's all love tonight
When we step across the line
We can sail across the sea
To a city with one king
A city on our knees

A city on our knees

If you gotta start somewhere
Why not here?
If you gotta start sometime
Why not now?
If we gotta start somewhere
I say here
If we gotta start sometime
I say now

Through the fog
There is hope in the distance
From cathedrals
To third world missions
Love will fall to the earth
Like a crashing wave

Tonight's the night
For the sinners and the saints
Two worlds collide
In a beautiful display
It's all love tonight
When we step across the line
We can sail across the sea
To a city with one king
A city on our knees

A city on our knees

Tonight could last forever
We are one choice from together
Tonight could last forever

Oh, tonight could last forever
We are one choice from together
Family, we're family

Oh, tonight could last forever
We are one choice from together
You and me yeah you and me

Tonight's the night
For the sinners and the saints
Two worlds collide
In a glorious display
'Cause it's all love tonight
When we step across the line
We can sail across the sea
To a city with one king
A city on our knees
A city on our knees
A city on our knees
A city on our knees

If we gotta start somewhere
Why not here?
If we gotta start sometime
Why not now?

I'm always getting inspired by my cats, and here are the latest results:

Kitty On My Knees

If you gotta eat somewhere why not here?

If you gotta eat sometime why not now?

If you gotta eat somewhere I say here

If you gotta eat sometime I say now

Look around, there are treats in the distance

From moist Pounce treats to dry Temptations

And every treat is just one step away

Tonight's the night

For the kittens and the cats

And now we come

The thin ones and the fat

So just give us some treats tonight

Those treats smell so divine

Oh, human, can't you see

I'm a kitty with one dream

A kitty on my knees

A kitty on my knees

If we gotta have tuna why not here?

If we gotta have catnip why not now?

If we gotta have salmon I say here

If we gotta have turkey I say now

Look around, there are treats in the distance

From milk-flavored to beef and chicken, and

Seafood medley, so this is why I say

Tonight's the night

For the kittens and the cats

And now we come

The thin ones and the fat

So just give us some treats tonight

Those mix-ups smell divine

Oh, human, can't you see

I'm a kitty with one dream

A kitty on my knees

A kitty on my knees

Oh, we'll stand here forever

We are standing here together

We'll stand here forever

Oh

We'll stand here forever

Yes, we're standing here together

Waiting, waiting

Oh, we'll stand here forever

Yeah, we're waiting here together

For our treats

Yeah, for our treats

Tonight's the night

For the kittens and the cats

And now we come

The thin ones and the fat

So just give us some treats tonight

Oh, and make this night divine

Oh, human, can't you see

We're the kitties with one dream

The kitties on our knees

The kitties on our knees

A kitty on my knees

A kitty on my knees

If we gotta eat somewhere, why not here?

If we gotta eat sometime, why not now?

The treat flavors talked about in the song are all Temptations treat flavors. So, big thanks to them. Big thanks to my cats too. And the lyrics wouldn't be here anyway if it wasn't for TobyMac. And TobyMac wouldn't be here if it wasn't for God. Praise God!!! :) :) :)

So anyway, let me know what you think!!!

I'm so excited... on Friday I'm going to sleep over at my Aunt's house, and I think I'll get pretty much all day Friday and Saturday there too! One of my old friends I haven't seen in a while is coming too so we'll get to see each other again and play some. I usually take a movie up there for us to watch, but I can't think of a movie to take, so I'm taking all sorts of Webkinz concert stuff to make up for it. The lead singers from TobyMeow and Sunshine are going to be there, but I picked out a variety of other pets for the rest of the group, so it will be interesting to see how they all do together at the concert!

Also, I'm ordering TobyMac's Eye On It Deluxe Edition CD!!! I wanted to get the CD so I can take it to my friend's house (I don't take my iPad there), and I can burn it to the computer and put the songs on my iPad too. I can't wait...