Super star (I am blogging again!)

Hey blogging world!
I am semi-back for the week :)
School started out pretty rough and I didn't have time for ANYTHING. So I had to drop a few things in order to get myself on track. Sadly this blog was one of those things.
Another sad thing is that I love my disk drive that had ALL of my possible blog topics on it this week will be a 'winging it' of sorts.
I did so much and so little over my break in the blogging.

I just realized how much I hate blogging. As in just now right after that first paragraph.
I have nothing to say to the world. I am a slightly different person than I was several months ago. Different in that I don't feel the need to have thousands of people following me on twitter and reading my blog religiously.
Cutting to the chase I will blog this week because I put it into my random bag of things to do for the week. (I am on spring break so I put a bunch of things into a bag and when I can't decide what to do next I pick out of the bag. Blogging came out first.) If I decide I can't think of anything good to do with the blog I will stop.

So now to the short topic of today's blog. I am in the new Avengers trailer.

I am at 1:23 in the very from and center.
I flipped when I saw it at midnight and had to wake my sister up to show her. It is about one of the most awesome things in my life thus far.

Suddenly it was all incredibly worth it. The driving to Cleveland and back three times. Staying up for two nights and missing almost my entire second week of classes. Just being in the TRAILER made all of that seem like nothing.

On the flip side: I am currently seeing life in a new light. I can not live for the idea of being in a trailer that may or may not feature Robert Downey Jr. Or even for the hope of becoming a movie star some day. My life is far more than that. It needs to be more than that.
Not everyone can 'make it', whatever that means. But everyone can hold their life to a better, more deserving purpose. God.
I need to be more purposeful in living a life that reflects His presence in it.
If we spend our lives chasing and desiring all of the shiny things of this world we will never be fulfilled. However if we could just learn to rest in easy in the God that offers more than the glimmer of stardom we just might be able to fill our hearts and spirits with the things we need to truly be fulfilled.

This isn't to say having dreams of being in the movies is a horrific sinful blasphemy. It is just to point that these dreams can't be what get me out of bed in morning. My existence is not owed to the movies. It is owed to something far more complex and wonderful.

Create onward,
E.M.G.

A Guest Post. Huzzah!

Blogger Matt Appling had a contest of sorts for doing a guest blog post. I was one of the people he chose to guest blog for.

Since some of the questions are about religion I thought I'd give you all a picture of me and coolest niece ever, Jalyn, in the heavens. (Also, I really love my new mac and wanted to share one of the pictures we took. We're supposed to be singing in heavenly bliss....)

The gist: I asked him some random questions and these are his answers.

We both hope you enjoy!

Nine Random Questions

*What is one segment I could do that would tie acting and Christianity into a good post?

I’m trying to narrow the focus of my blog to just these topics.

That’s a tough one, as I don’t know much of anything about acting.  It’s nothing I’ve ever thought of.  Interestingly, the Greek word for ‘actor’ was ‘hypocrite.’  An actor is a person who acts like something else – hence, a hypocrite.  So when Jesus calls the Pharisees ‘hypocrites,’ he’s comparing them to stage performers.

*I recently read your post on self esteem, but I’m not sure if I completely agree with you. If we all go around with zero self esteem how can we be the people God made us to be?

That’s a good question, but it’s not that we should have zero self esteem.  We should have LOTS of self esteem because we are created and loved by God!  Our problem comes when we try to get self esteem in all the wrong places, or try to get it without having really accomplished anything worth feeling good about.

*What’s you favorite cartoon?

Well, in high school, all of my friends picked cartoon aliases for each other.  The two guys who were teachers’ pets for a teacher we casually called “evil” were called Flotsam and Jetsam – from “The Little Mermaid.”  Apparently, I was most like “Doug.”  Good show, but I thought “Rocko’s Modern Life” was far funnier. 

“He-Man” just got added to Netflix streaming.  My wife and I watched and episode and spent the whole time cringing, and laughing…for all the wrong reasons.  Just awful, even for a show designed exclusively to sell toys.

*What would Jesus say about the capitalism run amuck? Would He refuse to do work if He wasn’t clocked in?

Without knowing what you mean by “run amok,” I’ll assume you mean that we’ve become a bunch of greedy, capitalistic swine.  With capitalism, humans cracked the code on making more people wealthier than any other economic system we’ve ever discovered.  But it is imperfect for the same reason that communism or mercantilism is imperfect – humans are imperfect, and we love money and security.  Jesus would say to us the same thing he said to people 2,000 years ago - that we love the illusion of safety and security, and he doesn’t offer that.  It is, after all, just an illusion.  We can stockpile and hoard all we want, but we don’t know when our time will come.

*Do you think there’s one person in the world with perfect doctrine?

Nope.  God is a mystery.  The Bible is all that has been revealed, but it hasn’t revealed everything in my opinion.  And I am much more comfortable with that than with a guy who thinks he’s totally figured God out.

*Who would win a cage match – Julia Roberts or Betty White?

Betty White would kick Julia Robert’s butt any day, whether in real life or in acting out a fight scene.  Betty White would never take an acting role that involved getting beat up by Julia Roberts.  (Though if she did, it would be the finest performance in the history of cinema.)  In fact, I daresay Betty White would not take an acting role with Julia Roberts at all, unless there was a fight scene included where she got to beat her up.  I know I wouldn’t.

*Any tips on how to stay sane whilst writing a blog? It seems like they can be a stress at times.

Good question.  It can be a stress, but it shouldn’t be that often.  When I started out, I laid out a schedule I knew I could keep consistently, and I’ve stuck with it for three years.  Once you get into a rhythm, it gets easier.  Also, keep a notebook or some kind of idea list that gives you some breathing room when it’s time to write and you don’t have creativity pouring out of all your head orifices.

*How do I generate more comments to my blog?

That can be tricky.  In general, you can comment on other blogs.  You can respond to comments on your own blog as much as possible.  And you can make it easier for people to leave comments.  I always end blog posts with a couple of questions for readers because I have such a hard time myself commenting on blogs without a prompt.

*Can you be a Hollywood figure and still maintain biblical standard or is the limelight a thing Christ followers should shy from?

I don’t think fame is inherently evil.  There are people who apparently live both lives in balance.  But Hollywood is a funny place and it seems to indoctrinate peoples’ worldviews, like there’s something in the water.  It’s a tough line to walk, but I think Christians can exist almost anywhere.

Here is a link to Matt's blog. He makes some very interesting points. Whether you agree or disagree with him it's always worth a read to get your mind working.

And if you're reading my blog right now you should pick one of the random questions I asked and answer it in a comment! Or second Matt's answer or maybe bring up some opposing view points.  

I want to be Famous! But what does God want?

Probably thought you all were rid of me! But no sir, I have dragged myself back to this computer to write yet another blog post. Quite honestly I do not have any of these planned but I suspect I'll get a plan together as a keep rolling.... Well I HOPE anyway.

I think I like blogs better when they have a picture to view, so I thought I'd give you a little something.
This is me in my new favorite shirt. A friend of mine is apparently a t-shirt addict and can not stop buying them! I had the good fortune to be communicating with him at the time of purchase and a shirt got thrown into the cart for me!
It's a Doctor Who shirt featuring the latest Doctor (Matt Smith) with his Fez, because fezzes are cool.
This friend of mine is also a film maker and if you need someone to help you with a film look him up here.

As always about a billion different things are going through my head and I'm trying to focus them to make one coherent blog post.

I am a work in progress. I have no idea what my life will like at the end. All I know is that it's going to be magnificent.

The only problem is I can't tell if it's going to be magnificent in a "give everything i have and am to serve and heal others" way or a "be so full of energy and talent that i am a film legend" way. Honestly I'm hoping to blend the two. Even though it's already proving quite difficult.

You see, I love Jesus. So in loving Jesus I am supposed to 'be in the world; not of it'. Hollywood is very much 'of' the world. The world is always telling you that love is conditional. If you want the world to love and accept you, you must bow to it's social constructs. Fame, fortune, and glory are the things we aspire to. Step on whomever you must to achieve these things. Doesn't matter what you say as long as they're talking about you.

I am so not gunna lie to you all here and say I don't care about fame or fortune, cus I totally do. I want people to remember my name. Ever since I was in grade school and we were learning about the presidents I remember thinking "I want people to remember my name like they'll always remember George Washington's". It's something I haven't been able to shake.
 I firmly believe I could get to that point if I tried. There is not a single doubt in my mind that if I began working my ass off right here and now that you would be watching me on television in the future and looking up the blog I started when I was 21.
I have a lot of confidence in myself. Confidence that, I believe, has gone through a lot of tests to prove that it will always snap back into place even after it's been shattered for the hundredth time. Confidence that could pull me through whatever Hollywood had to throw at me.

But as I mentioned in the last post, I am terrified of what all that work will do to me. My confidence comes from my faith in God. And it's my faith in God that fuels my love of helping people to heal. It brings me joy to know that I could help ease some one's burden.

If I left for Hollywood tomorrow I would survive it. Would my love of healing survive? Would my ability to love completely remain in tact? Would I get to keep my wonderful boyfriend? (I know it seems silly to stay for a guy, but while I don't believe in soul mates I do believe that finding relationships like this isn't an easy feat.)

(I'm not afraid of losing my family because I think it would be more of a task to get rid of them.)

This situation has been playing out for a while now. Ever since I started and then quit college I've been pondering the best course of action.
I could never quit acting. I've tried it before. It's just part of my creative soul. Something God gave me.

I suppose, for now, my conclusion is this: Fame and fortune are awful goals to have in mind. If those are the goals then the means of achieving those goals can be a large variety of things, most of which will leave you with a loss of self, and how can anybody remember you if you weren't even you by the time you'd gone through all the altering hoops you've been jumping through?

The God of the universe knew my name before I was born and He'll remember my name until forever. So I suppose I shouldn't be so worried about the humans 250 years into the future.

Which isn't to say that I can just stop working now. It's just my goals should be re-focused. I'll make a short list for you!
I will not let the almighty dollar consume me. I want to be a light, letting the natural energy that radiates within me start affecting others in a positive way. I want to talk to God more often. I will be more loving in everything I say, do, and even think. I will seek new avenues of letting my creativity and acting abilities shine through. I will  not let negative people dictate my emotions.

I suppose that's enough for now.
Again I find myself tired and in no mood to proof read. Please let me know if it's entirely incoherent or just plain stupid.

Right now think something super positive about yourself! Just think of one thing you're happy you are. Then focus on that and let energy flow from that positive thought.

Create onward,

E.M.G