Well, in the last few days, I've noticed a trend in the music that's been connecting with me. I mean, I do get tired of songs eventually (most of the time), but there are certain times when songs just really connect, regardless of whether or not they have before.

I've been listening to a lot of Relient K and Casting Crowns recently, along with some Skillet, and currently these songs are my favourites to listen to:

Say Goodbye by Skillet

Don't say goodbye
Cause I don't wanna hear those words tonight
Cause maybe it's not the end for you and I
And although we knew
This time would come for me and you
Don't say anything tonight
If you're gonna say goodbye

Fallen Man by Relient K (still my favourite lyrical song)

Because the judge of you is someone I could never be
Is why you should thank the Lord that it is Him
And it’s not me
Don’t give up, it’s not the end
There’s hope for every fallen man
To pick themselves up when they think they can't
Because with every passing second comes a second chance
Don’t give up it’s not the end
You’ll get back on your feet again
Forgiveness can be given when you think it can't
Because with every passing second comes a second chance

Let It All Out by Relient K

And you said "I know that this will hurt
But if I don't break your heart, then things will just get worse.
If the burden seems too much to bear,
Remember, the end will justify the pain it took to get us there."

Prodigal by Casting Crowns

I dragged Your name back through the mud
That You first found me in
Not worthy to be called Your son
Is this to be my end?
Daddy, here I am
Here I am again

When I Go Down by Relient K

When I go down
I go down hard
And i take everything I've learned
And teach myself some disregard
When I go downIt hurts to hit the bottom
And of the things that got me there
I think, if only I had fought them
......
When I go down
I lift my eyes to you
I won't look very far
Cause you'll be there
With open arms
To lift me up again
To lift me up again

Who I Am Hates Who I've Been by Relient K

Who I am hates who I've been
And who I am will take the second chance You gave me
Who I am hates who I've been
Cause who I've been only ever made me
So sorry for the person I became
So sorry that it took so long for me to change
I'm ready to be sure I never become that way again
Cause who I am hates who I've been
Who I am hates who I've been

With the exception of Say Goodbye, which just totally fits a lot of events in my life, all of those songs have to do with forgiveness/repentance, and the realization that God is there to lift us up whenever we fall. They are incredibly encouraging for me--the ultimate music (IMHO) to listen to when I'm feeling depressed, because they're a reminder that I'm not alone, and that I'll never strike out. God isn't going to run out of patience with me--I am His, and he's not going to let me go, no matter how many times I stumble in sin. God is good, and knowing that is great.

This Easter was an unusual one for me, mostly because this year, only one of my sisters was present for it. My sisters rock, and their absence is always noticeable, especially on a holiday like Easter was. However, I went to a friend's birthday party over the weekend. Sort of. I actually went Sunday night, after spending Sunday afternoon twiddling my thumbs at a family's house that happens to have a 14-year old girl, a 13-year old girl, a 9-year old girl, and a 5-year old boy. Needless to say, there wasn't much for me to do, though of course the parents all talked together, and Amy talked with the girls. Anyway, post-that, I went to my friend's house. Not only do we have a blast talking about a really, really large variety of topics, he also has an X360. And Halo 3. That game happens to rock. A lot. I'm almost as good as he is (he won a twenty-minute game by ONE point), but that really doesn't add or detract from the fun of it. We played that a lot. He also has Assassin's Creed. He got it for his birthday (like a week before his party). He'd already beaten it like twice, and the final level three times or so. Anyway, after we played Halo 3 for a matter of hours, he played Assassin's Creed for a while and pretty much just showed it off. As a matter of just having a goal, he hunted down, battled, and slew all of the guards he could find, generally in as stealthy a manner as possible, and if that wasn't an option, it was mass-battle. The largest group he fought at one point was 21 guards. O_O

Anyway, suffice it to say that we (him, two of our mutual friends, and I) had a blast. Then we went downstairs, snacked for a little while, then went to bed, it being around 2:30 AM. We got up at 10:00 or so. Then we ate a nice big breakfast (French toast!), talked for a while, and played more Halo 3. A lot more of it. At 3:30 PM, the party guests (those who weren't invited to spend the previous night) started arriving, and in the end, there were 29 people in the house, counting the parents and younger siblings of the invitees. It was really loud. And we had mass games of Halo 3, taking turns playing matches and such. It was really, really funny to see everyone who had never tried before attempt it (there were like four of them who had never played before, and believe it or not, they were more or less massacred). We laughed. A lot.

But then, my sister, another of my friends, and I all got permission to spend that night as well there, and watched The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. We laughed at that a lot, too. At around 1:00 AM, the movie finished, and we went into Michael's (my friend whose birthday party it was) room to talk--my sister, Michael's sister, another of Michael's sisters, and Chad and Matthias, who were also spending the night. We talked for just rather a long time, finally deciding that we should go to bed at around 5:00 AM.

In true form, all of the guys were up by 9:00 AM. So far, Chad and I have yet to get more than six hours of sleep at any sleepover or slumber party or whatever that we are both at. This time, though we were all of the opinion that four hours was too little to sleep, yet still, going to sleep again would be a waste of daylight, since Chad was going to get picked up at noon. So we all got up. And had another blast.

So all told, I had a great Sunday-Monday, but then on the way back from Michael's house with Amy, we got caught between buses in a sudden miniature snowstorm. It lasted for around an hour, and we were walking it for twenty minutes. Unfortunately, Sunday and Monday, the temperature had been around 12°, so I was in jeans, sandals, and a t-shirt. Which totally didn't hold up against reasonably fine 3° weather, negative-something windchill, and snowflakes (and for a little while, hail as well) that were at least a centimeter in diameter. We could see around twenty feet in front of us, and that not very clearly. It was pretty miserable for a while. I don't mind being wet, and I don't particularly mind temperatures above 0°, but when it's wet and less than 10°, it's really hard for me to stay warm, and we eventually stopped into a store for around ten minutes just because I wasn't sure of the consequences of walking much longer with the blood having mostly receded all the way to my shoulder blades. That wasn't cool, but anyway, we made it back to our house, and I took a nice hot shower. It felt great.

Yesterday was a whole 13°, which was awesome. The sun was shining, which I love, and so I went and played basketball for a little while. I think I should do it more often, because I wasn't very accurate. :P

So yeah, this holiday was awesome. Oh, yeah--on Friday, Chad, Amy, a friend (Santa) and I went to one of the malls here and just talked. For five hours. Santa actually goes to school in Vienna, so none of us (with the exception of Amy) had seen her for a while, and since she was formerly one of our classmates, we felt that we should take advantage of a time when all of our breaks corresponded. We had fun.

But, I think I've dragged this post out long enough. I'll just add one more thing--I'm borrowing Gladiator: The Extended Edition from Michael, and I'm so going to watch it over the weekend. Be jealous, all of you!!! :D