Gospel vs. Spiritual

It's February. This means not only is the month of "love" and my mom's and two good friends' birthdays...but it's also Black History Month. For many of you who don't know me, I love the arts. Acting is my favorite. I love listening to everyone sings except for myself. Also, I love paintings and drawings, though I can't even draw a straight line without it somehow being crooked no matter how hard I try. However, my youth group thought it would be interesting to take a fieldtrip down to the Musuem of Fine Arts right here in Houston and explore around a bit until the 6:30 show about African-American culture. The thing that struck us as amusing was the title of the show, "Gospel vs. Spiritual". I always thought it was the same thing. Gospels simply having spirit. But, tonight I found out I was all wrong as I experienced an overwhelming performance of songs from a wonderful choir. I came un-prepared, so I have no pictures and no video, but the performance will always remain with me. One thing I know now is the difference between the two. Gospel is fast-paced songs that people dance to, while spiritual are all songs that African-Americans sang during slavery times. I have to say it was an interesting experience and just for a moment...I felt as though my great ancestors were sitting right beside me, singing the songs with the choir.

Because I Trusted An Angel

Today was a wonderful day, besides the fact that it was Valentine's Day, I got a surpise of my own. It is custom in my household to go out to eat on special occasions. This Valentine's day we decided to make our way to Lupe Tortilla, one of the best Mexican restaurants EVER...in my opinion. There was a massive wait, with people backed up. My sister and I usually are thrown out of the car to go place our name on the list, while our parents find a parking spot. We portray the true meaning of team work when it comes to handling the crazy city life. However, after finding out it was a 30 minute wait and we had no time to spare on a school night, my sister and I turned around to see an old man in front of us. As we tried to manuever around him, he seemed to creepily stare. "Happy Valentine's Day, pretty girls!" he exclaimed to my sisters and I. I showed enough of a smile to show sincerity and thanks for the nice compliment, but odd way of doing so. Then he proceeded to tell me to go back up to the line and check in. "I already did." I said, trying to remember talking to strangers wasn't instilled in me as a wise decision. I grabbed my sister's hand, being protective, and continued to waver through the crowd. "Go check again." What's wrong with this guy! He's crazyyy! This is all I could think as my heart pounded, thinking of one of those scary and depressing stories where girls are stolen. "Check again." I kept hearing him say and the words became more and more distant...but something inside of me told me to go back and put our name on the list. So...oddly enough...I did. "Johnson...party of 4." I said, tapping my fingers on the wooden pedastal nervously, as my eyes darted for any sign of the man. The woman began getting together menus. "Child's menu?" she asked, but I stared at her blankly. She probably thought I was mentally challenged, but I was in shock. A 30 minute wait just turned into no wait at all. My parents then walked in and we went to our table. Throughout the night, I looked and looked for the man, but could never find him. I can't help but believe he was an angel. As much as my family wanted to eat at Lupe Tortilla, the wait was too long, and homework was calling my sister's and I's name. But, all thanks to a man urging me to go check in again, we had a delightful dinner. Crazy, right?!

It sort of reminds me of when Jesus urges Peter to place his fishing net on the other side of the boat. As reluctant as Peter is to doing it, he does it anyway, and is truly blessed. There's no doubt that tonight's scenario was creepy. But, nonetheless, it was a blessing as well!

Somebody to Love

Where's the love?! It's amazing to see how divorce rates are skyrocketing and people are taking marriage and love less seriously. Teens are believing they're in love and ruining their lives over something that's supposed to make you better. Whereas adults are putting love off as something unnecessary and comical. For the past month, my English class has been studying sarcasm and humor by using "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman. Many people hear "Princess Bride" and think about the movie classic starring Robin Wright. However, the movie and book have two different undertones. While the movie teaches the power of true love...the books says other wise constantly mocking the idea of "true love". Through this sarcastic study I have come to the question of..."Does true love actually exist?"

I see my parents...middle school sweethearts. Though they have changed when they first met...u still see a glowing love between the two of them. They laugh at the same things and complete each other's sentences. Though they may not be openly affectionate like newlyweds they still show a mind blowing and chilling love for each other. But they met a longggg time ago. Not trying to put an age on my parents, but back then times were different. I believe in this day and age, finding love is harder and harder because people don't really care too much about it's importance. Committment seems to be too much for people.

My dad is a pastor and he always has interesting stories to tell my family about church members. Part of his job is counciling married couples and some of the things said are shocking. People who have been married for 3 months have come to him wanting a divorce because they believe "they're not the one". But I always ask my dad..."Wouldn't they have known that before they tied the knot?" In "Princess Bride", Buttercup, the main character, accepts Prince Humperdinck's hand in marriage saying "She will never love him". Sometimes, I feel as though people get married out of fear of being alone or just for the right of saying, "I'M MARRIED!". However, it's not my job to figure it out. I'm just focusing on having a good time hoping when the time comes my husband will be everything I want and more!